SYDNEY, Sept 13 (AFP) - Australia said Tuesday it was "moving heaven and earth" to investigate claims that two Australians had been kidnapped in Iraq in a bid to force the government to withdraw its troops from the country.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the government had been in contact with its embassy in Baghdad and other sources in Iraq to check the kidnap claim.
"We are moving heaven and earth to get as much information as we can," he said.
"We have no more information (other than media reports). Obviously through the department (of Foreign Affairs) we are checking this out as a matter of priority," he said.
"We are in contact with our embassy in Baghdad and obviously other contacts in Iraq."
A spokesman for the foreign ministry said it was unknown if those believed kidnapped were military or civilian.
A statement in the name of the "Horror Brigades" of the Islamic Secret Army handed out in the Sunni Muslim insurgent bastion of Samarra said the Australians and two East Asians have been kidnapped.
The statement, obtained by AFP, gave Australia a 24-hour deadline to end its involvement in Iraq or the hostages would be executed.
"One of our brave brigades ambushed civilian cars belonging to the American army on the motorway from Baghdad to (the main northern city of) Mosul," the statement said.
"It took four prisoners, two Australians and two East Asian nationals who were working as security contractors for important people," it said.
"We tell the infidels of Australia that they have 24 hours to leave Iraq or the two Australians will be killed without a second chance."
"The prime minister (John Howard) must announce the withdrawal personally if he is concerned about his two citizens," the statement said.
Australia still has about 850 troops in and around Iraq and their presence has been a key issue in campaigning for national elections on October 9.
The conservative government led by Howard, a key ally of US President George W. Bush, has defended the deployment of troops for last year`s US-led invasion of Iraq as crucial to the international war on terrorism.
But opposition Labor Party leader Mark Latham says Australia`s involvement in Iraq has made the country a greater target for terrorists and has vowed to bring the troops home if Labor wins the election.
The issue has taken on greater urgency following last week`s suicide bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed at least nine Indonesians.
The bombing is believed to have been carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical Islamic group linked to Al-Qaeda and already held responsible for a string of attacks and attempted attacks in Southeast Asia, including the October 2002 bombings in Bali which killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian.
Latham said during a campaign debate with Howard on Sunday that Australia needed to concentrate on cooperating with its Asian neighbors to fight Jemaah Islamiyah and other regional militant groups rather than getting involved in conflicts "on the other side of the world".
Howard for his part said the government would never bow to terrorist demands.
Counter-terrorism experts recently suggested the election split over Iraq could incite extremist groups to target Australian interests in hopes of forcing Australia out of Iraq.
They site a wave of commuter train bombings in Madrid last March that led to the election defeat just days later of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, another US ally in Iraq. The election was won by the anti-war Socialist Party which promptly withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq.