The eight Chinese men kidnapped and then released by Iraqi militants earlier this month left Baghdad for China on Tuesday accompanied by officials of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

They will travel via Jordan to China and a Chinese working group, set up specially to coordinate the rescue work of the hostages, will escort them all the way back to their hometown in Fujian Province in southeast China, said Zhai Jun, head of the group.

The eight Chinese, aged between 18 and 40, were seen off at the airport by Chinese ambassador to Iraq Yang Honglin.

The Chinese nationals were kidnapped in mid-January en route to Jordan by gunmen identifying themselves as the Islamic Resistance Movement.

The Chinese government called for an immediate release of the hostages and contacted the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential religious body in Iraq's Sunni population, for help. A special working group was set up to coordinate the rescue efforts, led by Zhai Jun, Director General of the West Asian and North African Department of the Foreign Ministry.

The working group arrived at Baghdad Sunday and the hostages were handed over to the Chinese side the same day, reportedly at a mosque in the western city of Ramadi. The Chinese embassy said all the eight were well and in good mood.