UAE says kidnapped diplomat in Iraq freed-WAM

ABU DHABI, May 30 (Reuters) The United Arab Emirates said that its kidnapped diplomat in Iraq, Naji al-Noaimi, was freed today, the official WAM news agency reported.

''UAE diplomat Naji al-Noaimi was freed this evening,'' WAM quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.

''The UAE expresses its great appreciation for all the effort exerted by the Iraqi government ... to secure the safety and release of the UAE diplomat.

''The UAE thanks all the political groups in Iraq who played a role in the release of Naji al-Naoimi,'' WAM quoted the official as saying.

Earlier this month, a group calling itself Islam's Banner said they had kidnapped Noaimi and demanded that the UAE withdraw its charge d'affaires.

The kidnapping and killing of Arab diplomats and embassy workers over the past year by Islamist militants has worsened the already frosty relations between Iraq's US-backed Shi'ite-led government and Sunni-dominated Arab states.

Reuters VJ VP0135