Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit expressed Monday his gratitude to those Iraqis who contributed to the safe release of an Egyptian diplomat taken hostage in Iraq.

"I thank the Iraqi people who contributed to the release of Mohamed Mamdouh Qutb," Abul Gheit said, adding that the diplomat, who is in good condition, returned to the Egyptian Embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

He added that Qutb's release followed Egypt's intense contacts with Iraqi officials.

"The freeing was likely connected to his work on promoting brotherly ties between the people of the two countries," he said.

Earlier in the day, the al-Jazeera TV channel reported that Qutb, the third most senior official at the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad, was released by the kidnappers.

One of the kidnappers was quoted as saying that they decided to free Qutb due to religious faith and moral qualities he possesses.

Al-Jazeera TV channel reported last Friday that Qutb had been held hostage in Iraq, while airing a footage which showed Qutb sitting in front of six masked men in black.

The report said that the group claimed they seized the diplomat in reply to Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef's remarks that Egypt is ready to offer its security experience to the interim Iraqi government.

Egypt has swiftly reacted to the event by reaffirming that it would not consider sending troops to Iraq.

Source: Xinhua