The two French journalists who had been held hostage in Iraq since Aug. 20 were freed Tuesday and were expected to return to Paris on Wednesday, the French Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.

"They have been freed. They have been handed over to French authorities. They will return (to Paris) Wednesday," French Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Herve Ladsous, said.

The two journalists, Christian Chesnot, 37, of Radio France Internationale and Georges Malbrunot, 41, of Le Figaro, were kidnapped along with al-Jundi on Aug. 20 south of Baghdad by a group calling itself the "Islamic Army of Iraq." The group demanded that the French government revoke the headscarf ban in public schools. France rejected the demand.

Source: Xinhua