Vienna -- The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday the abduction of an Austrian national in Iraq.

The Austrian, a private security official accompanying a food convoy driving to Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, was seized along with four Americans and possibly people of other nationalities on Thursday afternoon, a ministry statement said.

"The Austrian authorities could confirm the identity of the Austrian citizen, who is employed with a Kuwait-based security firm. The Austrian accompanied the convoy for this company," the statement said.

A ministry official was dispatched to the region to help deal with the situation, the statement added.