NAIROBI, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The three Kenyan drivers released in Iraq after 42-days in captivity returned home early Tuesday amid a warm reception at the country's main airport.

    The three drivers, Faiz Khamis Salim, Ibrahim Khamis Iddi and Jalal Mohammed Awadh, who were released safely on Sept. by their captors in Iraq, arrived in Nairobi and are expected to meet President Mwai Kibaki at the State House later Tuesday.

    The freed hostages vowed never to step a foot in Iraq again, terming it "a very dangerous place to live in."

    They said their captors did not mistreat them but kept on giving them hope that they will be released soon.

    "We shall never return to that place again. Iraq is a very dangerous place and we thank God we are all alive and safe," said Faiz Khamis Salim.

    Kenyan Foreign Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere who welcomed them at the airport thanked the families of the three drivers, for the courage and steadfast patience they demonstrated while under considerable stress.

    The three Kenyans were among seven drivers working for Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Company (KGL) who were kidnapped on July 21, threatened with death if their employer did not pull out of Iraq.

    The KGL said it paid ransom of more than half a million dollarsto the captors, a group calling itself the Black Banners Brigade of the Secret Islamic Army, to secure their release.

    The captors apparently dropped other conditions they had made such as a demand KGL pay compensation to families who had suffered in the US air strikes on the Iraqi city of Falluja.

    Scores of nationals from more than two dozen countries have been kidnapped since April when guerrillas embarked on new tactics to force foreign troops and firms to leave Iraq. Enditem