All the members of the Philippine military-police contingent withdrew from Iraq late Monday to save the life of a Philippine hostage kidnapped by Iraqi militia.

So far five countries have fully withdrawn their forces from Iraq, namely Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines, due to domestic anti-war pressure.

According to a US newspaper The Washington Post, Estonia, New Zealand, Norway and Thailand are either in the process of withdrawing their forces or planning to do so shortly.

Portugal will keep its forces until Nov. 12 this year, while Poland said Sunday that its military presence in Iraq should be substantially reduced as from early 2005.

Several countries such as Singapore and Moldova have reduced its forces in Iraq.

Under the No. 1511 Resolution of the UN Security Council passedin October 2003, 37 countries have sent forces to the Multinational Forces in Iraq. Currently about 140,000 soldiers from 32 countries are deployed in the country.

Source: Xinhua