Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit stressed on Tuesday that uncovering the circumstances surrounding the murder of Egypt's top diplomat in Iraq Ihab el- Sherif would only take place after the arrest of the assassins, the official MENA news agency reported.

He made the remarks when addressing the People's Assembly Defense and National Security Committee.

Sherif, Egypt's top envoy to Iraq who had been expected to become the first Arab diplomat in Baghdad with the full rank of ambassador since the ousting of Saddam Hussein, was kidnapped off the Baghdad streets on July 2 and later killed.

Abul Gheit said the criminals who perpetrated the crime belonged to cluster organizations and small groups and that it was difficult to find them.

Egypt was holding contacts with influential parties such as the US and Iraqi troops in a bid to locate Sherif's body and bury him in a respectful ceremony he deserved as a martyr ambassador, he added.

He said the Foreign Ministry knew of Sherif's abduction 18 hours after the incident took place.

The Foreign Ministry kept the news secret in order not to provoke the kidnappers and to give a chance for the security agencies to play their role in getting acquainted with the abduction issue, he added.

Abul Gheit denied that sending Sherif to Iraq came in response to a request by the United States, pointing out that the slain ambassador was chosen because he was fully aware of Iraq's conditions.

The foreign minister confirmed that Sherif had made his own decision on going to Iraq and that nobody forced him to go.

He also denied that Egypt upgraded diplomatic representation in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua