A video grab image taken from a video tape released on February 18 shows what appears to be two Indonesian journalists standing in an undisclosed location.

This image from video released Feb. 18 allegedly shows two missing Indonesian journalists, Meutya Viada Hafid, 26, left, and Budiyanto, 36, flanked by two masked gunmen. (Reuters)

This is an undated picture of an Indonesian reporter for Metro TV, Meutya Hafid, who's been reportedly missing in Iraq.

This is an undated picture of an Indonesian reporter for Metro TV, Budiyantoin, who is taken hostage in Iraq, and his wife.

    BAGHDAD, Feb. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Two Indonesian journalists kidnapped in Iraq last week had been released, the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV channel reported on Monday.

    The two journalists, identified by the Indonesian authorities as Meutya Viada Hafid and Budiyanto, were already released in Iraq by an armed group, the TV channel said.

    But there was no immediate confirmation of the journalists' release from the Iraqi or the US occupation authorities. The Indonesian embassy in Baghdad also said they were waiting for credible evidence.

    In a videotape aired by the Arab-language al-Jazeera satellite TV Friday, an Islamist group claimed it had kidnapped two Indonesian journalists who went missing on Tuesday.

    The little-known group said in the tape that they were investigating the mission of the two journalists in Iraq and asked the Indonesian government to explain the reason they were in Iraq.

    The two journalists both worked for the Indonesia television station Metro TV. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry previously said the pair were going to Baghdad by road from Amman and disappeared in their rented car in the region of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

    Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appealed on Friday for the release of the two Indonesian television journalists.

    On Monday, Indonesian media quoted sources from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry as saying the government would seek the release of the two journalists through both formal and informal channel. Enditem