24 July 2004	Saturday	06 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

DUBAI, July 23: An Egyptian diplomat was kidnapped in Baghdad on Friday by a group calling upon Cairo not to cooperate with US forces in Iraq.

"The group said the abduction was in response to comments by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif that Egypt is ready to offer its security experience to the temporary Iraqi government," the Al Jazeera television network said, naming the hostage as Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb and showing a videotape it said had been sent to it by the group.

"The hostage said in the tape that the Egyptian embassy does not cooperate with the American forces and should help the Iraqi people in rebuilding," the channel said. Mr Qutb was shown sitting in front of six masked men in black, at least one armed with a rifle.

Mr Qutb, whom Al Jazeera said described as the number three in the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad, said he was in good health, the channel said. The group called itself the "Lions of God Battalions in Iraq".

Staff of the embassy confirmed a diplomat had been abducted. Kidnappers have seized dozens of foreigners since April to press demands for foreign troops to leave Iraq, to deter foreigners from working with US forces or to extract ransom.

A group which has threatened to behead seven foreign hostages - an Egyptian, three Kenyans and three Indians - issued a new 48-hour deadline to their Kuwaiti employers on Friday and demanded Iraqi prisoners be freed from Kuwaiti and US jails.

Those countries are not part of the US-led occupation forces in Iraq but many of their nationals work as drivers and contractors. Many hostages have been freed, including an Egyptian released on Monday after the Saudi firm he worked for agreed to his captors' demands that it close its offices in Iraq.

On Tuesday a Filipino truck driver held hostage was set free, a day after Manila withdrew its troops in response to demands from a group that had threatened to behead him. -Reuters