8 freed Chinese hostages head home today

AMMAN, Jordan – Eight Chinese workers freed by Iraqi kidnappers were scheduled to fly to Jordan, then head home to China today, said a Chinese diplomat in the Jordanian capital.

The eight were to arrive in Jordan on Monday, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi insurgents kidnapped the eight construction workers this month as they were traveling toward Jordan to return home. The insurgents, the Islamic Resistance Movement, said they had released the workers Saturday. China’s state-run news agency said they were handed over to Chinese custody in Iraq on Sunday.

In a video aired Saturday, the insurgents said they had decided to free the hostages after China pledged to discourage its citizens from traveling to Iraq.

In a statement broadcast on a pan-Arab satellite television Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad said Beijing had issued “more than one warning to Chinese citizens not to go to Iraq at the present time” and appealed for the hostages’ release.

The Chinese government said the former hostages are migrant workers from the southeastern province of Fujian who traveled to Iraq hoping to earn money to support their families back home.