German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday expressed his outrage over the death of four Russian diplomats killed by Islamic extremists in Iraq.

The German government strongly condemns this "abhorrent crime," Steinmeier said in a statement.

He said the members of the German Foreign Ministry were especially "outraged and shocked over the terrible fate of our Russian colleagues."

"It shows the perfidious mercilessness and contempt for human rights by those who carried out this crime," the statement said.

The statement came after the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that four Russian diplomats taken hostage in Iraq had been killed by their abductors.

On June 3, unidentified gunmen attacked a Russian embassy vehicle in Baghdad's Mansur neighborhood, killing one diplomat and kidnapping four others.

"We are deeply saddened to report that despite all measures taken to secure the release of the Russian embassy employees in Iraq, the situation is irreparable," the statement said.

Source: Xinhua