ISTANBUL, Aug 7 (AFP) - A militant group in Iraq which has abducted a Turkish truck driver has threatened to behead him in 48 hours if his employer does not withdraw from the country, according to footage shown by Turkey`s NTV channel on Saturday.
The channel, which showed pictures of the man with his hooded captors, identified him as Tahsin Top, an employee of the Turkish firm Atahan, and said he had entered Iraq on July 24.
In the video, the visibly nervous man is heard addressing his compatriots in Turkish while showing various documents to the camera to prove his identity.
"They are killing... Please, comrade drivers, do not come here," he says.
NTV said the abductors, whose affiliation was not specified, had given Top`s firm a 48-hour deadline to leave Iraq and stop supplying US bases or he would be beheaded.
Several Turkish truck drivers, mainly transporting supplies to the US army, have been abducted by militants in Iraq and on Monday one -- identified as Murat Yuce -- was shown in a video being shot in the head by his kidnappers.
It was not immediately clear if Top had already been reported as missing in Iraq or was a new kidnap victim.
Turkey said on Friday it was trying to save the lives of three of its nationals believed to be held hostage in Iraq and to locate two others who have been missing.
It did not give the names of the five people but the names of four missing Turks have been circulating in the press. Top`s name had not been mentioned until now.
Following the execution of Yuce -- the first Turkish hostage killed in Iraq -- the main Turkish road haulage association urged its drivers to stop transporting supplies for US forces.
But several Turkish trucks were still crossing the border, the Anatolia agency reported on Saturday.