7:26am UK, Wednesday July 14, 2004

Islamic militants in Iraq have executed one of their two Bulgarian hostages.

Arabic television station al Jazeera also said the kidnappers had set a 24-hour deadline for killing their second captive.

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Hostages with the killers (picture from Al Jazeera)

The two captives, lorry drivers Georgi Lazov and Ivaylo Kepov, were snatched in the Mosul area of northern Iraq earlier this month.

The channel said it had been handed a videotape of the beheading by the group.

The video showed three men dressed in black with their faces covered by black masks.

Mr Lazov, 30, kneeled in front of them, wearing the same bright orange garment that other hostages wore before they were slain.

Suspected al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi is thought to head the gang behind the killing.

The militants had demanded Bulgaria end the presence of its 485 troops in Iraq and that all prisoners being held by the Coalition be freed.

Mr Lazov suffered from diabetes while Mr Kepov has suffered a stroke.

The execution came on the day the Philippines government said it would withdraw its humanitarian forces from Iraq as soon as possible to save the lives of two Filipino hostages in the country.