(MENAFN- Gulf Times) HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah said yesterday that Baghdad had a responsibility to help free more than 20 Qataris kidnapped almost a month ago while on a hunting trip to Iraq.
HE al-Attiyah, speaking on the sidelines of a rights conference in Doha, said Qatar was liaising with Baghdad to try to secure the release of the hunters.
"We are working closely with the Iraqi government. I think they should hold responsibility," said Attiyah, noting that the Qataris had been granted permits to hunt by the Iraqi government.
Asked if he was confident that they would be released, Attiyah said: "God willing".
The group of at least 26 hunters were taken hostage in December after their camp in the south of the country, close to the Saudi border, was attacked.
Another nine people were able to escape and cross into Kuwait.
The hunters were there on an officially licensed expedition.
Attiyah's call follows a demand from the Gulf Co-operation Council, of which Qatar is a member, late last month for Baghdad to take "decisive and immediate measures" to secure the release of the hunters.
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