The identities of the eight kidnapped Chinese in Iraq have been confirmed, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The eight kidnapped Chinese are 40-year-old Lin Qiang, 20-year-old Wei Wu, 19-year-old Zhou Sunlin, 39-year-old Lin Bin, 38-year-old Lin Zhong, 37-year-old Chen Qin'ai, 18-year-old Zhou Sunqin and 35-year-old Lin Xiong. They are all from Pingtan County in east China's Fujian Province.

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.

Chinese Embassy officials said they were making all efforts to rescue the eight hostages.

FM spokesman Kong Quan said Tuesday that the Chinese government is seriously concerned with the kidnapping, and the Foreign Ministry is taking all possible measures to rescue them.