A Filipino contract worker was killed in an ambush by militants in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement carried by Reuters on Thursday. Jose Brillantes, foreign affairs undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, said the engineer for U.S. firm Lucent Technologies Inc. was traveling with two Iraqis when the militants opened fire on their car late on Wednesday. All three died, he said, citing a report from the Philippine embassy in Baghdad. "This is a grim reminder of the dangers of being in Iraq at this time," Brillantes told reporters. "We can't guarantee the safety and protection of Filipino workers there. We're calling on our workers to avail of the voluntary repatriation programme". The foreign ministry declined to identify the slain worker until his immediate family in the Philippines was notified. It was the third reported killing of a Philippine contract worker in Iraq this year. --More 1121 Local Time 0821 GMT
