A United States official said that his country is aware of the kidnapping and is working with the Iraqi authorities in order to locate their whereabouts.
Advertisement
Three U.S. citizens have been reportedly kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the U.S. State Department said Sunday.
Three American nationals missing in Iraq were kidnapped from a “suspicious apartment” in Baghdad, a spokesman for the security command responsible for the capital said on Monday.
The men were grabbed by a group of gunmen from an apartment in Baghdad’s southeastern Dora neighborhood late Friday afternoon, the source said.
Iraqi police and U.S. authorities earlier said three S nationals had been reported missing in Baghdad.
When the Pentagon announced an increase in the number of US special forces in Iraq last month, the spokesman for one militia vowed to attack them. The police said it was investigating reports they were kidnapped.
According to Iraqi officials, the three individuals were kidnapped in the Dora neighborhood, which is controlled by Shiite militias, including some backed by Iran that the USA government designates as terrorist groups. Kidnappings in Iraq have been carried out by ISIS, Shiite militias and criminal gangs often demanding ransom payments or seeking to resolve workplace disputes.
“Our highest priority is the security and safety of American citizens overseas”, claimed U.S. state department official John Kirby.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility in Baghdad. But a series of alleged abuses and kidnappings by these forces has cast doubt on the prime minister’s capacity to police his own police.
Advertisement
The men, who have not been named, were seized by militants while they were still inside the apartment in Baghdad’s Dora suburb, the colonel told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The result of this, every bad actor on earth has been told go capture an American”, Mr. Cruz said in the interview broadcast Sunday. Qataris and Turks have been among those seized in recent months.
