Egyptian trucker freed in Iraq

An Egyptian truck driver, kidnapped in Iraq almost two weeks ago, has been freed, the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera reported tonight.

Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid Algarabawi, was reported captured on July 6 when a group calling itself the Iraqi Legitimate Resistance released a video showing him surrounded by masked gunmen.

The group – which snatched him as he drove a fuel truck from Saudi Arabia to the US military in Iraq – made a series of demands on his Saudi company, including asking for a million dollars ransom and insisting it stop doing business in Iraq.

The company refused the ransom, but agreed to end its business in Iraq. The trucker was taken to the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad, witnesses said.