Iraqi militants have kidnapped an Australian man who pleaded for US-led coalition forces to leave Iraq in order to save his life, according to a video tape obtained today.

A top aide to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said today that kidnappers who abducted and threatened to kill a US journalist had promised to set him free.

Iraqi militants are threatening to kill a Turkish hostage if his company does not withdraw from Iraq within three days, private NTV television reported in Istanbul.