Eight Chinese nationals were kidnapped by militants in Iraq, the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad confirmed on Tuesday.

Embassy diplomats said they were making all efforts to rescue the eight hostages, who went missing last week while traveling to Jordan.

Sources told Xinhua the Chinese, from China's southern province of Fujian, were construction workers in a project to rebuild an Iraqi plant.

A video tape aired by the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel on Tuesday showed the eight hostages holding Chinese passports standing in row, flanked by masked militants who read a statement, demanding the Chinese government clarify its stance on Iraq.