The Iraqi captors of four Western peace activists said they were giving the US-led forces a last chance to free Iraqi prisoners or they would kill the hostages, Al Jazeera television said today.
The Arabic channel aired a video from the Swords of Truth group, apparently showing the British hostage Norman Kember (74) along with two Canadians and an American man standing against a wall.
The four men work for Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), one of the few remaining aid groups operating in Iraq.
The grainy footage was dated January 21st.
The hostages appeared to be speaking to the camera but their voices could not be heard.
Mr Kember, American Tom Fox and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Sooden were kidnapped on November 26th in Baghdad.
Mr Kember's wife appealed for the release of her ailing husband in a televised message on Monday.
The Swords of Truth earlier issued a video of the four men and accused them of spying for US-led forces. It threatened to kill them unless prisoners in Iraqi jails were freed.
Muslim scholars and activists from around the world, including leaders of the militant Hamas and Hizbollah groups, have appealed for the release of the aid workers.
Thousands of civilians have been kidnapped since the fall of Saddam Hussein, including more than 200 foreigners seized by gangs seeking ransom or insurgents trying to put pressure on their governments to withdraw from Iraq. Many have been freed, but about 50 have been killed.