AN Australian Islamic leader says the deadline set by Douglas Wood's kidnappers for Australia to withdraw its troops from Iraq has been extended to midnight tonight. The original deadline passed at 5am (AEST) on Tuesday, with no word on the fate of the 63-year-old engineer, being held by a group calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq. Australia's mufti, Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, told SBS radio in Arabic that he had been negotiating with Mr Wood's kidnappers via the Islamic clergy, Iraqi media and other Iraqi people. "There's been an extension of that deadline until 12 o'clock midnight, today," SBS Arabic radio journalist Majida Abboud-Saab, who interviewed the Sheik, said. However, the Sheik said he had not spoken directly to the kidnappers, although he hoped to later.Ms Abboud-Saab, the executive producer of SBS radio's Arabic language program, said the Sheik believed Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was not helping Mr Wood with his broadcasts on Arabic television network al-Jazeera. "The interesting thing that he said was that it would be helpful if the foreign minister (Mr Downer) did not make comments to the media," Ms Abboud-Saab said. "He said that he does have a message from the Australian Government that has been conveyed (to the kidnappers), but not in quite the way Alexander Downer said yesterday (on al-Jazeera)." It appeared Mr Wood was still alive, she said. "He (the Sheik) said everything pointed to the fact that he's (Mr Wood) safe and well and alive," Ms Abboud-Saab told radio 2UE.