Video shows Jordanian hostages

Militants have released a video purporting to show six Jordanian hostages and warned Jordanian companies not to deal with the US military, the Arab television station al-Jazeera reported today.

Footage aired on al-Jazeera showed the six sitting on the floor holding up their passports.

The station identified the men as employees of a Jordan-based company called Abu Jaafar al-Mansour, and said they were being held by a previously unknown group called al-Baraa bin Malek.

The claims could not immediately be verified.

More than 200 foreigners, including at least 30 Jordanians, have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed in April 2003.

Some kidnappers have sought ransom, while others pursued political motives such as the withdrawal of foreign companies and troops from Iraq.

More than 30 hostages have been killed by their kidnappers.