Al-Arabiya broadcasts video of French abductee in Iraq

Bernard Planche, a French engineer, was seen on video on al-Arabiya today speaking in English while a gun was held to his head.

A previously unheard of Iraqi militant group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of French engineer Bernard Planche earlier this month with a video broadcast Wednesday by al-Arabiya satellite channel.

An announcer for the channel said the group that called itself the Monitoring Brigade for Iraq had demanded that the French government end what the alleged captors called "its illegitimate presence in Iraq" otherwise it would kill the hostage.

The demand came even though France does not have troops in Iraq and was one of the biggest opponents of the U.S.-led war on the country.

The black and white footage showed a middle-aged man with a moustache sitting on the ground flanked by two men standing. One of them pointed a gun at the captive's head as he read a text.

"My name is Bernard, I'm 52. I'm from France, from Lyon," the man said in English translated into Arabic by the channel.

He said that he had been doing humanitarian work in Iraq for two years as a water projects engineer.

Planche had been working for an American NGO called AACCESS when he was abducted outside his residence in Baghdad December 5.

"I'm sorry for the problems that have happened to everyone who has helped me. Thank you to everyone who wants to help me. Thank you to my family and I apologize for the problems I've caused you," the man said.

Al-Arabiya did not say how it obtained the video, the authenticity of which could not be verified.

Planche was the fifth Western national kidnapped in Iraq over a period of 10 days. The others are a German archaeologist, who was freed on December 18, and four human rights activists - two from Canada and one each from Britain and the United States who remain in captivity.