Pakistani forces on Thursday freed two Chinese engineers held hostage by al Qaeda-linked militants since the weekend, a military spokesman said.

All five of the kidnappers were killed in the operation in the South Waziristan tribal region and one of the Chinese hostages was wounded, Major-General Shaukat Sultan said, according to Reuters report.

"One of the Chinese is absolutely safe, the other one has been hurt," he was quoted as saying.

Two Chinese engineers, Wang Ende and Wang Peng, were kid-napped on Saturday by five gunmen near Jandala in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

Earlier report said that Abdullah Mahsud, commander of the five kidnappers, refused an appeal by tribal elders to free the two Chinese hostages on Tuesday.

He asserted that he would not conduct any talks unless the government allows the kidnappers to leave their besieged hideout together with the hostages and reach him.

A group of tribal mediators went to Mahsud's native village near Jandola on Tuesday morning to negotiate with him but did not meet him. Some of his own cousins, also sent to meet him, could not find him.

Brigadier Mehmood Shah, chief of security of the tribal region, said elders from Mahsud's tribe telephoned him on Monday and warned him the tribe as a whole would suffer unless he freed the hostages and that he would face tribal justice, Reuters reported.

The kidnappers, witnesses said, contacted their commander over radio and sought instructions.

Mehmood Shah said the government had several options, including the use of force, but was showing restraint for the safety of the hostages, Dawn reported.

Zhang Qiyue, spokeswoman of China's Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday in Beijing that China has started an emergency mechanism to handle the situation and is in 24-hour contact with the Pakistani Government.

(China Daily via agencies October 14, 2004)