Militants in Iraq free seven truckers
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-01 19:54

Seven employees of a Kuwaiti trucking company who had been kidnapped in Iraq are free and headed to Kuwait, a company spokeswoman told The Associated Press Wednesday.

"They are all fine, in good health. This is what we heard," said Rana Abu-Zaineh of Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Co. She gave no details about the circumstances of the release.

"We promised their families, their children that we would do everything to free them. So, we did," she said.

The three Kenyans, three Indians and one Egyptian were abducted July 21. The kidnappers had repeatedly changed their demands and extended deadlines set for killing the seven.

Friday, Abu-Zaineh had said her company would stop work in Iraq. A day earlier, the kidnappers had released a video showing the hostages and declaring it would release the men if their company agreed to stop working in Iraq.

Those abducted included Ibrahim Khamis, Salm Faiz Khamis and Jalal Awadh of Kenya; Antaryami, Tilak Raj and Sukdev Singh of India; and Mohammed Ali Sanad of Egypt.

Militants in Iraq have kidnapped more than 100 foreigners in recent months in an effort to push countries to withdraw their troops from the coalition and to pressure companies doing business here to leave.

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