Seven Chinese nationals abducted in Iraq have been released late Monday night in Iraq, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing Tuesday morning.
Their physical and spiritual conditions are generally stable, said the spokesman.
Released at midnight of Monday in Iraq (in the small hours of Tuesday morning in Beijing), the seven Chinese nationals, all male, have arrived in a temporary residence in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, the spokesman said.
Sun Bigan, head of the team responsible for the re-establishment of the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad, immediately conveyed cares from Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders to all the seven men.
Details of the release have yet to know, the spokesman said.
Soon after the kidnapping, President Hu Jintao had instructed the Foreign Ministry and the team responsible for the re-establishment of the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad to take utmost efforts to ensure the safe rescue of the seven hostages, according to sources with the Foreign Ministry.
The seven Chinese nationals were kidnapped by armed men in Fallujah, west of Baghdad on Sunday after they entered Iraq via Jordan. The seven people, aged from 18 to 49, were from east China's Fujian Province, Chinese diplomats in Baghdad said.
In response to President Hu's instruction, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has taken every necessary measure to rescue the abducted men.
Sun Bigan called an emergency meeting and formed a special taskforce for rescue work.
Sun called the newly-appointed interim Iraqi Interior Minister, and asked the minister to take every necessary measure to determine the identity of the kidnappers, the location of hostages, and to rescue the seven under the precondition of ensuring their safety.
The Chinese diplomats also contacted officials of the interim Iraqi governing body to help in the rescue of the seven.
(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2004)
