LONDON, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The British government Friday urgedthe kidnappers in Iraq to release Margaret Hassan, director of CARE International in the country, after her video was aired by Arabian-language TV channel al-Jazeera.

    The videotape, where Hassan pleaded the government to withdraw its troops from Iraq, was "extremely distressing", said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in a statement.

    "I have the greatest sympathy for what her family is suffering," he said. "Margaret Hassan has spent more than 30 years working for the Iraqi people. We hope all Iraqis will join us in calling for her immediate release," he added.

    Hassan, 59, was kidnapped on Tuesday in Baghdad by an unknown group. She has lived in Iraq for the last 30 years helping its people and is married to an Iraqi.

    In the newly-released tape, Hassan pleaded the government to help her out of the same fate as Kenneth Bigley, British hostage who was beheaded by his captors in Iraq earlier this month.

    "The British people, tell Mr. Blair to take the troops out of Iraq and not bring them here to Baghdad," she said. Enditem