A USA official said that his country is aware of the kidnapping and is working with the Iraqi authorities in order to locate their whereabouts. However, they were then taken to Sadr City, a vast and densely populated Shiite district to the east, and there “all communication ceased”, an Iraqi intelligence official told The Associated Press.
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A source told CNN two of three missing contractors are dual Iraqi-American citizens, and the third is an American national. 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 US government designates as terrorist groups.
The BBC’s Jim Muir is in Baghdad.
Asked if he was confident that they would be released, Attiyah said: “God willing”.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility in Baghdad.
Another police official in Baghdad, a major general also speaking on the condition of anonymity, gave the names of the abducted individuals as Amro Mohamed, Wael al-Mahdawi and Rusul Farad, a woman.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed the three Americans are missing. They are American contractors.
Two Iraqi army helicopters were seen hovering over Dora while police SUVs patrolled the streets, residents said.
The circumstances around the kidnapping of the Americans, who were born in Iraq but had recently been granted American citizenship and worked at the city’s airport, have been subject to wild speculation from the start.
Such abductions in Iraq have been carried out by the Islamic State group, Shiite militias and criminal gangs often demanding ransom payments or seeking to resolve workplace disputes.
He said that the translator was also kidnapped.
Numerous members of the parliament’s security and defense panel confirmed the kidnapping, including official Mohammed al-Karbouli and deputy head Iskandar Witwit.
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They were apparently taken to another area, as Dura was searched and they were not found, the officer said.
