Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri on Thursday condemned the brutal murder of senior Algerian diplomats at the hands of Iraqi insurgents.

On behalf of the government of Pakistan, Kasuri expressed a deep sense of shock at the brutal murder of the Algerian Charge d' affaires Ali Belaroussi and Attache Azzedine Belkadn at the hands of Iraqi insurgents, a Foreign Office statement said.

"The government strongly condemns this act of terrorism and the people of Pakistan share the grief and sorrow of their Algerian brothers," Kasuri was quoted as saying.

He stressed that Pakistan stands for Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is committed to extending all possible support to the people of Iraq.

The Pakistani government, he added, will continue to work closely with the international community in the fight against terrorism and in alleviating the sufferings of the Iraqi people.

An Iraqi terror group said Wednesday it killed two kidnapped Algerian diplomats because of Algeria's ties to the United States and its crackdown on Muslim extremists.

The two envoys were kidnapped at gunpoint on July 21 in Baghdad and appeared blindfolded in a video posted Tuesday on the Internet.

Algeria has confirmed that its two abducted diplomats in Iraq have been killed by their captors, reports said.

Source: Xinhua