Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamic militant with suspected ties to al Qaeda, has demanded that Japan pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks.

A statement posted on Tuesday on an Islamist Web site warned Japan to follow suit with the Philippines, adding they will not tolerate anyone who did not come to help the Iraqi people but to protect the Americans.

Japan has 550 non-combat troops in Iraq.

The warning coincided with the release in Iraq of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz a day after Manila withdrew its small contingent of troops in response to demands from kidnappers who had threatened to behead him.

The website belongs to a group calling itself the Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade, a military wing of Tawhid and al-Jihad(Unification and Holy War) which linked to the militant Islamic Army in Iraq.

Tawhid and al-Jihad is considered one of the most dangerous groups fighting coalition forces in Iraq.

The group, led by the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for attacks on US troops and Iraqi police and security forces, as well as for beheadings of an American, a Bulgarian and a South Korean.

The group also warned Arab and Islamic governments, namely Jordan, Iran, Turkey and Gulf countries, not to deploy troops to Iraq.

On Sunday, al-Zarqawi offered a bounty of 200,000 Jordanian Dinars (284,000 US dollars) to whoever kills Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

On the other hand, US authorities last week raised to 25 million dollars the bounty on information leading to the arrest of al-Zarqawi.

Source: CRI/Agencies