An American hostage in Iraq has asked the US government to hold talks with the kidnappers to save his life, but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice refused to "negotiate with terrorists."

In a video tape released Wednesday in a television program aired by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV channel, Jeffrey Ake held up his passport and a driver's license as armed and masked insurgents stood at his side.

Ake asked his family and friends to demonstrate and speak directly to the US government to open discussions with the Iraqi national resistance.

He also called on the US forces to withdraw quickly from Iraq.

On the same day, however, Rice ruled out the possibility of holding talks with the kidnappers. "The United States would not negotiate with terrorists," she said.

Rice, however, said the US government was contacting Iraqis and others who might have information to prevent the hostage's killing.

The US contractor was abducted from the site of a reconstruction project near Baghdad, Iraq's capital, on Monday.

In 2004, more than 150 foreigners were kidnapped in Iraq by militant groups seeking to drive out foreign troops or criminal gangs demanding ransom. About a third of those kidnapped have been killed.