DUBAI, Aug 24 (AFP) - The Nepalese government issued a further appeal Tuesday for the release of 12 nationals believed to have been abducted in Iraq, stressing that Nepal was not part of the US-led coalition in the war-torn country.
"The people who were abducted in Iraq were looking to make a living ... Holding them will not serve any cause. We have no other presence or participation in Iraq, be it military or otherwise," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat said on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.
"I urge the abductors of these innocent people to release them," he said.
The Himalayan kingdom's foreign ministry said Monday it had no independent information on the alleged abduction but that its diplomats in the Middle East were studying pictures published Sunday on an Islamist website.
It said Mahat had spoken to Doha-based Al-Jazeera television to stress that Nepal was not part of the coalition in Iraq.
The declared captors, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna, posted pictures of 12 men on its website and said it was showing "an example for whoever combats Islam and the Muslims, and supports and assists the crusader occupation forces in Iraq."
Mahat said Tuesday: "We modestly ask the sides concerned to strive to secure the release of the hostages. I call on institutions, organizations and the government (of Iraq) to help Nepal in this crisis, which is causing concern at home."
On Friday, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna said in a statement that they had taken captive 12 "infidels" who were "affiliated with a Nepalese company" and had been helping "US crusader forces to fight Islam".
Nepal, whose army is battling a bloody Maoist uprising, declined US requests to send troops to Iraq, although Nepalese Gurkhas serving with the British armed forces have been posted in the Middle Eastern country.
Dozens of foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq by armed insurgents fighting the US-led multinational coalition with the aim of putting pressure on their governments or employers to leave the country.