American kidnapped in Iraq

The Pentagon has acknowledged that an American contractor for the Defence Department is missing in Baghdad, an apparent confirmation of a Shiite militant group’s claim this week that it abducted an American in Baghdad last month.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that an American contractor for the Defence Department is missing in Baghdad, an apparent confirmation of a Shiite militant group’s claim this week that it abducted an American in Baghdad last month.

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The case marks the first reported kidnapping of an American citizen in Iraq in more than 18 months.

The League of the Righteous, a militant group that has kidnapped Westerners in Iraq in the past, posted a statement and video on its Web site on Thursday showing the hostage.

The statement demanded the release of militants who have fought U.S. forces and punishment of the guards employed by Blackwater Worldwide — now known as Xe Services — who were involved in a shooting incident in Baghdad in 2007 that claimed the lives of 14 Iraqis.

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