Seven Chinese kidnapped in Iraq

Seven Chinese citizens have been kidnapped by armed men in central Iraq, the state media reported on Monday.

The seven Chinese entered Iraq via Jordan on Sunday morning and were most probably abducted in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese diplomat as saying.

The seven, all male, were from China's south-eastern Fujian province, he said, adding that the oldest of them is 49 years old and the youngest is 18.

Sun Bigan, head of the team responsible for the re-establishment of the Chinese embassy in Baghdad, said that the list of the detainees has been presented to the interim Iraqi interior ministry and all efforts will be made to locate and rescue the seven civilians.

The Chinese were said to have been abducted on a highway from Iraq's northern city of Mosul to Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad.

The roads between Jordan and the Iraqi capital have been closed by US forces.

The captives were in good health and not handcuffed, but it remained unclear what the kidnappers will do with them, some unidentified foreigners were quoted as saying.

China, one of the five permanent members in the UN Security Council, is opposed to the military invasion of Iraq.