Five Iraqis who were abducted with four South Africans in Iraq have been released but the South Africans are still missing, said the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
Department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the five Iraqis were released on Tuesday.
There is still no word on the missing South Africans, employed by Safe Net Security Services, which is contracted by the United States Department of Defence.
”The South African diplomatic missions in countries neighbouring Iraq are monitoring the situation very closely with the express hope that the South Africans will also be released,” said Mamoepa.
SA does not have a diplomatic mission in Iraq.
Mamoepa said it had been established that there was no link between the abductions and the simultaneous hijacking of a truck carrying money in the same area.
He said Safe Net was not a South African company but was registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The names of the four South Africans are not being released as their families have not given permission for this.
Earlier Mamoepa said it was not known who had kidnapped the group as no demands had been made and no reasons given.
He said the department was in contact with the security company as well as the abductees’ families.
They were abducted on Sunday while travelling in a convoy when they were flagged down at a roadblock north of Baghdad. — Sapa