The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in Cairo on Tuesday that UN weapons inspectors would soon be sent to Iraq as requested by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar al-Zibari.

During a visit to Egypt on the same day, Zibari voiced hope for outcomes of a foreign ministers' meeting of Iraq's neighboring countries in Cairo, saying his country needs help to ensure security and stability.

Also on Tuesday, a Filipino hostage kidnapped in Iraq was freed near the United Arab Emirates Embassy, while unidentified assailants killed the interim governor of the southern city of Basra as he was heading to work.

UN Inspectors to Return to Iraq Soon

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Cairo, Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the return of inspectors to Iraq was a pressing need, not just to search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD), but also to write the final report on absence of any WMDs in Iraq, so that the international community would lift sanctions imposed on the war-damaged oil-rich Arab nation.

The US-led coalition forces in Iraq were not competent to prove presence or non-presence of WMDs in Iraq, and the only competent one to undertake the job is the IAEA, he noted.

"The sole mandated authority is the IAEA and the international inspectors will continue the mission they started before the invasion," he said, adding that its mandate does not end until the final report is submitted. Following that report, sanctions imposed on Iraq can be lifted.

The IAEA and the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) are the two UN agencies charged with finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The IAEA led the search for nuclear weapons, while UNMOVIC for biological and chemical weapons,  as well as rockets.

After last year's invasion, the United States barred all UN inspectors from returning, and instead deployed its own inspection teams to search for Iraq's WMDs.

But the search for WMDs, the principal justification for the Iraq war, has found nothing up to now.

Hope for Outcomes of Cairo Meeting

Also in Egypt's capital, Zibari said the Cairo talks, due on Wednesday and Thursday, are important, because they come in the wake of a power transfer from the US-led coalition to an interim Iraqi government and the UN participation in the political process in Iraq.

The minister said he is waiting for positive outcomes of the gathering and hopes the multilateral talks will help the Iraqis maintain security and stability in their war-ravaged country.

Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, together with UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, are expected to join the discussions on the deteriorating situation in Iraq.

Zibari indicated that the topics to be discussed at the Cairo talks reflect the keenness of the parties concerned to observe Iraq's integrity.

"Countries neighboring Iraq can take a positive stance and act in line with good neighborhood relations," he said.

As for the ongoing attacks by foreign elements in Iraq, Zibari said the indifference of a few neighboring countries is behind the sneaking of such elements into the Iraqi territories.

"We need practical and actual cooperation from our neighbors," he said, adding that the Cairo talks will provide a good opportunity for discussions over this issue in a transparent manner.

After meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit, Zibari said Iraq is seeking positive cooperation from its neighbors to help the Iraqis guarantee their security.

Zibari also stressed that the interim Iraqi government has to prove its credibility before the Iraqi people by showing on the ground that its decisions are fully independent.

Security Situation Exacerbated

The Cairo talks come at a time when the security situation in Iraq has been worsening due to mounting violence on the ground.

Earlier Tuesday, Hazem al-Ainachi, the interim governor of Basra, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on the way to his office.

Ainachi was killed near a checkpoint at a distance of 100 meters from his house and one of his guards was injured and the gunmen fled.

The attack took place in a neighborhood located in the center of Basra, some 550 km south of Baghdad and the second largest city in the country.

Ainachi, 59, is a member of the regional council of Basra who took over the governorship after judge Wael Abdul Latif was named minister for governorate affairs in June in the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

On the same day, US forces engaged in running battles with Iraqi insurgents, destroying two homes and killing four Iraqis.

The fighting near Samarra, a hotbed of violence 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Baghdad, began Tuesday evening and continued into the night.

Iraqi insurgents attacked US troops, firing mortars from a house and small arms fire from a nearby mosque.

The American soldiers returned fire and destroyed the house, while a US warplane flattened another house after hitting it with a 500 pound (226 kilogram) bomb.

Filipino Hostage Freed

A Filipino hostage, who was threatened to be killed by his kidnappers if his country did not pull its troops out of Iraq, was freed Tuesday morning after the Philippine government eventually complied to the demand.

Hammed Ahmed al-Shamisi, charge d'affaires of the United Arab Emirates Embassy, said in a statement that "we were surprised when the Philippine hostage Anglo de la Cruz was released in our embassy."

The Philippine deputy foreign minister and charge d'affaires were in the UAE embassy and they agreed with the UAE embassy to transport de la Cruz to the United Arab Emirates to make medical check-ups.

De la Cruz was dropped off by his kidnappers on a street corner outside the UAE embassy at 10:30 am (0630 GMT) and told to walk towards the building, the UAE diplomat told reporters.

De la Cruz, 46, was abducted before two weeks while driving into Iraq from Saudi Arabia by a group calling itself the Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade, linked to the militant Islamic Army in Iraq, who demanded the Philippine government to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

After the release of De la Cruz, a group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suspected operative linking with al-Qaida, demanded Japan withdraw troops from Iraq or face attack.

"Do it as the Philippines did, nobody will protect you and we are not going to tolerate anybody," al-Arabiya satellite TV quoted a statement posted in an Islamic website as saying.

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.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2004)