Iraqi official: 3 Americans missing in Baghdad were kidnapped by gunmen
Iraqi official: 3 Americans missing in Baghdad were kidnapped by gunmen
(about 9 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Three Americans reported missing from a Baghdad neighborhood were kidnapped by militiamen from an apartment in the capital on Saturday, a senior police official and resident of the building said.
BAGHDAD — Three Americans reported missing from a Baghdad neighborhood were kidnapped by militiamen from an apartment in the capital, a senior police official and resident of the building said Monday.
A statement from Baghdad Operations Command on Monday confirmed that “three people with American citizenship” were kidnapped in the capital.
A statement from Baghdad Operations Command confirmed that “three people with American citizenship” were abducted in the capital.
A Baghdad police colonel, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said that the Americans are employed as contractors at the Baghdad International Airport. He did not say which company employed the individuals.
A Baghdad police colonel, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said that the Americans are employed as contractors at the Baghdad International Airport. He did not say which company employed the individuals.
Another police official in Baghdad, a major general also speaking on condition of anonymity, gave the names of the abducted individuals as Amro Mohamed, Wael al-Mahdawi, and Rusul Farad, a woman. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to a request to verify the names. Two senior security officials said that the missing Americans are of Iraqi origin.
Another police official in Baghdad, a major general also speaking on the condition of anonymity, gave the names of the abducted individuals as Amro Mohamed, Wael al-Mahdawi and Rusul Farad, a woman. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to a request to verify the names. Two senior security officials said the missing Americans are of Iraqi origin.
The three Americans appear to have been seized by Shiite militiamen in the Dora neighborhood in southern Baghdad, the police colonel said. The area from which they were taken is controlled by Shiite militias, including the Iran-backed Asai'b Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, he said.
The three Americans appear to have been seized by Shiite militiamen in the Dora neighborhood in southern Baghdad, the police colonel said. The area from which they were taken is controlled by Shiite militias, including the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, he said.
The colonel said that the group had been invited to the home of their Iraqi interpreter. But a resident of the apartment building where the Americans were reportedly seized said that they were taken from a second-story apartment that he described as well-known as a brothel. A police major general also said the apartment was a brothel, in a building of eight residents, he said. The resident said the apartment is subject to frequent raids by Asa’ib ah al-Haq, although typically the men found inside are simply told to leave. He said he witnessed part of the raid, but that it happened late at night and was over very quickly.
The colonel said that the group had been invited to the home of their Iraqi interpreter. But a resident of the apartment building where the Americans were reportedly seized said they were taken from a second-story apartment that he described as a well-known brothel. A police major general also said the apartment was a brothel. The resident said the apartment is subject to frequent raids by Asaib Ahl al-Haq, although, typically, the men found inside are simply told to leave. He said he witnessed part of the raid but that it happened late at night and was over very quickly.
The Baghdad Operations Command described the apartment as “suspicious” in its statement. An intelligence officer assigned to Dora said they had raided the apartment in the wake of the kidnapping and found whiskey bottles, but that the residence had been abandoned. The owner of the apartment was a man locals referred to as “Abu Maria,” the intelligence officer and other residents in the area said. Abu Maria was known for throwing illicit parties, they said.
The Baghdad Operations Command described the apartment as “suspicious” in its statement. An intelligence officer assigned to Dora said agents had raided the apartment in the wake of the kidnapping and found whiskey bottles but that the residence had been abandoned. The owner of the apartment was a man locals referred to as “Abu Maria,” the intelligence officer and other residents in the area said. Abu Maria was known for throwing illicit parties, they said.
“They went to an inappropriate place,” Iraqi lawmaker Iskander Witwit said of the Americans, referring to the alleged brothel. “Iraqi security forces are working very hard now to locate them.”
“They went to an inappropriate place,” Iraqi lawmaker Iskander Witwit said of the Americans, referring to the alleged brothel. “Iraqi security forces are working very hard now to locate them.”
Dora was a dangerous Sunni insurgent hub, and site of some of the worst sectarian cleansing in the capital in 2006-07. Some areas of Dora are now ruled by militias, residents and officials said. Iraq's Shiite militias have for years carried out raids on bars, brothels, and liquor stores, which they say are un-Islamic.
“We are aware of reports that American citizens are missing in Iraq,” John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, said on Sunday. “The safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority. We are working with the full cooperation of the Iraqi authorities to locate and recover the individuals. Due to privacy considerations, I have nothing further.”
Abductions for ransom or political reasons were widely practiced by militants and criminal gangs in Baghdad following the U.S. invasion here in 2003. But the rate of high-profile kidnappings had dropped off in recent years.
A senior Iraqi security official also told CNN that the Americans had gone missing two days ago, along with their Iraqi interpreter. Some local media reports, quoting unnamed security officials, said the individuals were taken from Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood on their way to the international airport.
Iraqi security services “are holding their information very closely,” said Saad al-Mutlabi, head of the security committee of the Baghdad provincial council.
He also said that the missing Americans were of Iraqi origin, but did not know where they worked in the capital. Contractors are often hired to assist government ministries, train local personnel, or carry out infrastructure projects.
“The government is taking major steps to withhold information. They don’t want to jeopardize the investigation,” Mutlabi said.
[Plane with freed Americans leaves Iran; U.S. imposes new sanctions ]
Both Sunni and Shiite militants are present in the Iraqi capital, but Shiite militias operate as powerful auxiliary forces, and the Islamic State does not have a major presence here.
Many of Iraq’s Shiite militias are backed by Iran. Some analysts who closely follow Iran and its regional proxies suggested Sunday that the abduction of American citizens in Baghdad, if true, may have been a projection of Iranian power, in particular by hard-liners who opposed the prisoner deal with the United States over the weekend.
Iran released four Iranian Americans with dual citizenship who were being held in Iranian prisons; the United States offered clemency to seven Iranians charged or imprisoned for sanctions violations. American authorities also dismissed charges against 14 Iranians outside the United States.
The Islamic State has also abducted Westerners, including U.S. citizens, in Syria, where it also commands wide swaths of territory. The jihadists beheaded two Americans, James Foley and Steven Sotloff. A third American, aid worker Kayla Mueller, was also killed in what the Islamic State said was a coalition airstrike on one of their compounds in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
