Iraqi militant group claims kidnapping 12 Nepalese

Ansar al-Sunna Army claims to have kidnapped Nepalese workers subcontracted to a Jordanian company and working for the US military in Iraq, in its website posting.

An Iraqi militant group claimed to have kidnapped 12 Nepalese workers subcontracted to a Jordanian company and working for the US military in Iraq, said a statement posted on its Web site.

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However, the group, Ansar al-Sunna Army, has been linked to unfounded claims of kidnappings in the past and there was no way to verify the authenticity of Friday's report.

Jordanian and Nepalese officials contacted by The Associated Press could not confirm the abduction of any Nepalese workers. Scores of foreigners have been kidnapped in recent months by insurgents and criminal gangs seeking to extort ransom or with the political motive of trying to force foreign troops and companies to leave the country.

The government of Nepal - an impoverished South Asian nation - doesn't allow its citizens to work in Iraq because of security concerns. But an estimated 17,000 Nepalese are believed to have slipped into the war-torn country from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Around 200,000 Nepalese work in the Gulf.