US national reported kidnapped in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A US national was reported kidnapped near the Iraqi capital on Monday, a US official in Iraq said, citing a preliminary military report.
"We got a report that an American was kidnapped someplace in Iraq ... I think it was a contractor working on an assistance project, but this is all very preliminary," the official said.
"What we know is that there was an initial report but the initial report is often incorrect."
The kidnapping was reported by a US military unit near Baghdad, he added.
Around 200 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq since last April when Shiite and Sunni uprisings shook the country as insurgents and criminals started to use kidnapping as a political tool.
Many kidnappings are motivated by cash. Often abductors will sell their captives with political value to militant groups.
A Pakistani embassy official was abducted in Baghdad on Saturday after evening Muslim prayers, but Islamabad has said the employee was apparently safe and that the motive of the kidnapping may be more financial than political.
Three Romanian journalists and their Iraqi-American guide were kidnapped March 28 on the outskirts of Baghdad. The Romanian government said Monday they were believed to be still alive.

04/11/2005 15:33 GMT