BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Sudan decided Friday to close its embassy in Iraq after al-Qaida abductors in the strife-torn country threatened to kill five Sudanese hostages, Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV news channel reported.

    Sudan's Deputy Foreign Minister Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim revealed the decision on Friday in a telephone interview with al-Jazeera, a pan-Arab satellite channel.

    Ibrahim was quoted as saying that Khartoum, seeking the release of the kidnapped nationals in Iraq, has decided to close its embassy in Baghdad and all its diplomats would leave Iraq.

    Five Sudanese citizens were abducted more than one week ago by al-Qaida militants in Iraq, who issued an Internet statement on Thursday to claim the kidnapping and gave Khartoum 48 hours to break off diplomatic relations with Baghdad and close its embassy in Iraq.

    On Dec. 23, Khartoum said that five Sudanese embassy employees in Baghdad and a friend of them had been seized by unknown assailants while exiting a mosque in the Iraqi capital. Enditem