Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Sunday that no evidence showed Ihab el-Sherif, slain head of Egypt's diplomatic mission in Iraq, was in contacts with Iraqi militants.

Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry, Abul Gheit noted that the Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari had denied reports that Iraqi authorities were investigating whether Sherif was in contacts with militants.

This denial confirms the Egyptian assertions that Sherif was not in touch with militants, Abul Gheit said.

The top diplomat said terrorists had the intention of killing Sherif, adding after kidnapping him they displayed his identity cards and the next day killed him without showing any interest to contact Egypt or any other party.

Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Hani Khallaf also described Sherif's killing as a "heinous" crime that had nothing to do with Islam and humanity.

He made remarks while meeting with Arab ambassadors and the heads of diplomatic missions in Cairo, who strongly condemned the brutal killing of Sherif.

Over the past 30 days Sherif had spent in Iraq and contacted Iraqi officials and leaders of tribes and scholars who are known to the Iraqi government, Khallaf said, stressing all evidence suggested that Sherif was executed.

He revealed that Arab interior ministers will tackle how to strike a balance between supporting the elected Iraqi government and protecting diplomatic missions in Iraq.

Iraq's al-Qaida group said in a website statement on Thursday that it killed Sherif kidnapped last Saturday in Baghdad in the first of a series of attacks on diplomats.

Source: Xinhua