China's Xinhua news agency says seven Chinese nationals have been captured by armed men in Fallujah after entering Iraq from Jordan on Sunday.

The news agency said Monday that four Britons who had been released after being captured by Iraqi insurgents earlier had told a Baghdad-based TV station that seven Chinese were being held in a secret location in Fallujah.

The news agency added that the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad had confirmed such reports.

China, one of five permanent members on the United Nations Security Council, is opposed to the U.S. action in Iraq and isn't part of the military coalition there.