Iraq militants free Egypt envoy

Mr Qutb has confirmed his release by telephone

Militants in Iraq have released an Egyptian diplomat who was abducted on Friday after leaving a Baghdad mosque.

The kidnappers said they had freed Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb "because of the religious faith and moral qualities he possesses".

Their statement was broadcast on the Arab TV news channel al-Jazeera.

Mr Qutb - the most senior official to have been abducted in Iraq - said he "thanked God and all... who worked for my release", the AFP agency reports.

Ransom 'refused'

Speaking by telephone from his country's mission in Iraq, Mr Qutb said no deal was done to free him.

In the video aired by al-Jazeera, Mr Qutb's kidnappers said they had turned down a sizeable ransom offer.

As the footage ended, Mr Qutb was seen standing up to embrace one of his masked, black-clad captors.

Gunmen claiming to be from the Lions of Allah Brigade had earlier said the kidnapping was a response to an Egyptian offer to train Iraq's security forces.

This prompted Egypt's government to announce it had no plans to send security personnel to Iraq.

Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, meanwhile, called on Egypt not to give in to the kidnappers' demands.

Mr Allawi last week visited to Cairo, where he is believed to have discussed the possibility of using Egyptian troops to train Iraq's forces.