Indonesia has today welcomed the release of two of its nationals who had been held hostage in Iraq, and reiterated earlier warnings for all its citizens to immediately leave the war-torn country.

A militant group claimed to have killed two hostages in Iraq – one a Turk and the other an Iraqi who was a long-time resident in Italy, the Arab news network Al-Jazeera reported.

A militant group claiming to have kidnapped two Indonesian women says it will free them if their government releases a Muslim cleric accused of heading an al Qaida-linked group, the Arab news station Al-Jazeera reported today.

Two Indonesian women have been kidnapped in Iraq, but authorities in Jakarta do not know the identity of the captors or their demands, the foreign ministry said today.