The Eight Chinese hostages held by Iraqi insurgents have been released, the Chinese embassy in Iraq confirmed on Saturday.  

A videotape aired by Al-Arabiya said the Islamic Resistance Movement, Al-Numan Battalion, had decided to release the eight Chinese citizens as a goodwill gesture for the friendship between the two countries of Iraq and China.

"They were not harmed during the period they were held and also they weren't exchanged for any amount of money," an insurgent said in the tape.

The eight Chinese were abducted en route to Jordan by gunmen identifying themselves as the Islamic Resistance Movement, according to a video tape released by the group on Tuesday.

Earlier reports said that the kidnappers had asked the Chinese government to ban its nationals from entering Iraq.

The Chinese embassy on Wednesday contacted the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which helped in the release of seven Chinese hostages last April, in a bid to free the eight men.

The eight hostages, aged between 18 and 40, were identified as citizens from Pingtan County, east China's Fujian Province.

The Chinese embassy in Baghdad said the hostages are ordinary Chinese citizens who traveled to Iraq for job opportunities.

"After their contracts expired, they rented a car to leave Iraq for home ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival, the most important festival for Chinese like Eid al-Adha (the feast of sacrifice) for Muslims," the embassy said in a statement.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2005)