The majority of the 500 Russian professionals in Iraq are to leave the country next week despite the freeing of eight workers at a Russian engineering firm earlier today.
The hostages were freed earlier today after their captors learned some of them were from Russia - which opposes the US-led military occupation and has refused to send troops there.
"As a result of attempts undertaken by the Russian side in the past few hours all employees of Interenergoservis company taken hostage on April 12th have been released," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"I was told they were kidnapped by mistake," Interfax news agency quoted the head of Interenergoservis as saying.
Another engineering firm, Tekhpromexport, said it had decided to evacuate its employees from Iraq, where the company is building a power station. The firm's 370 Russian staff make up the bulk of the country's 500 citizens in Iraq.
An official on the Kremlin Security Council urged Russians to leave Iraq and said planes were ready to evacuate them, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the final decision was up to individual companies.
Last year, Russia joined France, Germany and China in opposing the US-led war in Iraq and has refused to contribute any forces to the US-led coalition there.