Eight Russians were abducted in the latest kidnapping wave in Iraq beginning last week, Russia's Itar-Tass News Agency reported Tuesday.  

The Itar-Tass denied earlier reports by the Arabic television, Al Jazzeer, which said two Iraqi bodyguards were killed in crossfire before 11 Russians were kidnapped.

The Russians working for a Russian energy company, Interenergoservice, were taken away in rural Baghdad by 15 to 20 masked militants to nowhere, said the Itar-Tass.

Tension in Iraq increased further as the civilians from the countries which opposed the US-led war in Iraq, including Russia and China, came under serious threat of kidnapping last week.

Seven Chinese, abducted over the weekend in Fallujah west of Baghdad, were released late Monday night safe and well. China issued a strong advisory urging Chinese citizens to cancel non-essential trips to Iraq.

Also on Sunday, a British contractor who had been held for six days was released in Nassiriya, south of Iraq.

According to videotape released by Al-Jazeera, eight truck drivers were freed, three of whom were Pakistanis, two Turks, one Indian, one Nepalese and one Filipino

But no progress has been made to free three Japanese hostages as a threatened deadline to kill one of them expired at 5:00 pm (1300 GMT), said a Japanese diplomat in Amman. "Until now we haven't got any confirmed information about their safety and their whereabouts," he said.

The group holding the hostages said last week it would burn them alive unless Japan pulled out its troops from Iraq.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had reiterated that his government would not bow to the demand of kidnappers.

Meanwhile, the US military said seven American contractors and two US soldiers remain missing. The contractors working for US company Kellogg, Brown & Root went missing Friday after an attack on a US fuel convoy.

The Czech Embassy in Baghdad said two Czech television staff had been kidnapped Sunday north of the capital.

An unknown armed group claimed Saturday that it was holding 30 foreigners, including Japanese, Bulgarians, Americans, Israelis, Spanish and Koreans, which has also yet to be confirmed.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2004)