Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera aired a tape on Wednesday of three Italian hostages

Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera aired a tape on Wednesday of three Italian hostages held hostage in Iraq which it said was dated May 31.

One of the three men, shown eating at a table and then seated next to each other, said they were being treated well, Al Jazeera said. The man was speaking in Italian.

The three, dressed in short-sleeved shirts and trousers, appeared to be in good health.

"Today is Monday, May 31, 2004. We tell the government, the Pope, the Catholic church and our families that we have been treated in an excellent manner up to now and we are well," the channel quoted one of the Italians as saying as he pointed to his colleagues.

"We have had no problems with the men holding us in this place," he said as he sat between the other two in front of a white wall.

Four Italians working for a U.S. security firm were abducted on April 12 near Baghdad. One of them was shot dead after Italy refused to bow to demands to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

Italy has some 2,700 troops based in the southern town of Nassiriya.

Al Jazeera also showed an Arabic-language statement by the kidnappers, calling itself the Green Battalion, urging Italian people to demonstrate against the policies of President Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Reuters)