RIYADH, 18 July 2004 — Kidnappers holding an Egyptian driver in Iraq told his Saudi employer yesterday they would free him today, after he complied with their demand to pull out of the country, the businessman said.

Faisal Al-Neheit told reporters an unidentified caller telephoned from Iraq to tell him that Muhammad Al-Gharabawi “would be freed tomorrow”.

“They told me they had decided to free Al-Gharabawi tomorrow. They said they would decide the location (where he would be freed) tomorrow,” Neheit was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“We thanked them and said it was good to hear that. God willing, they will implement what they said,” he added.

The Faisal Al-Neheit Transport Company said on Friday it had pulled out of Iraq on Wednesday, one day after the kidnappers threatened to killed Al-Gharabawi within 72 hours if the firm did not withdraw.

On Friday Al-Neheit also sent a statement to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel, the main medium for militants announcing the capture or killing of hostages in Iraq, confirming the pullout.

Al-Jazeera had earlier reported that the group calling itself the 1920 Battalions, the military wing of the National Islamic Resistance, had warned it would not deal lightly with those who dealt with “infidel occupiers” and fell into its hands.

The Saudi firm had offered the kidnappers $15,000 for Al-Gharabawi’s release but said it was unable to pay a $1 million ransom first demanded by the group.

Al-Gharabawi, who has worked for the firm for eight years, was seized while transporting fuel to Iraq about two weeks ago. The company is one of about 50 subcontractors operating with 1,400 trucks from Saudi Arabia to Iraq.

Iraq has relied on fuel imports from neighboring countries since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein last year in a war that destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure.

Several militant groups have kidnapped foreigners in Iraq and have either released or killed hostages in recent months.

The Tawhid and Jihad Group of suspected Al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has killed a Bulgarian, an American and a South Korean hostage.