Iraqi forces deploy in Baghdad neighborhood after kidnapping

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces have been searching the Baghdad neighborhood where three Americans were reportedly kidnapped over the weekend. The troops today have closed streets and conducted house-to-house searches.

An Iraqi government intelligence official says the Americans were kidnapped from the home of their interpreter in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora. The official says the Americans had been invited into the home. After the kidnapping, they were taken to the Sadr City neighborhood, where the official says "all communications and contact stopped."

A local policeman offered a different account, saying the individuals were taken from their car Saturday along a highway in Dora while driving to the airport.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed yesterday that 'several" Americans had gone missing. The embassy didn't identify them or say what they were doing in Iraq.

Kidnappings 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.

%@AP Links

041-c-12-(Susannah George, AP correspondent)-"by Shia militias"-AP correspondent Susannah George reports the U.S. Embassy in Iraq is working with authorities to find some missing Americans. (18 Jan 2016)

<<CUT *041 (01/18/16)££ 00:12 "by Shia militias"

042-c-19-(Susannah George, AP correspondent)-"the Iraqi capital"-AP correspondent Susannah George reports the U.S. Embassy has confirmed that "several" Americans are missing in Iraq, but they were not identified. (18 Jan 2016)

<<CUT *042 (01/18/16)££ 00:19 "the Iraqi capital"

APPHOTO BKM101: Iraqi security forces deploy in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Iraqi security forces fanned out across the Baghdad neighborhood Monday morning where three Americans were reportedly kidnapped over the weekend, closing streets and conducting house-to-house searches. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) (18 Jan 2016)

<<APPHOTO BKM101 (01/18/16)££

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