Three Americans were abducted from a 'suspicious apartment' in Baghdad

Three Americans were abducted from an apartment in a southern Baghdad neighbourhood, Iraqi military sources confirmed.

The Americans were inside a "suspicious apartment" in the southern neighbourhood of Dura, where they had been taken by their Iraqi translator for "drinking and women", a police colonel said on condition of anonymity, adding that the men were employed as contractors at the Baghdad International Airport.

He said that militiamen had "attacked the place" and said the Americans were "kidnapped from inside the apartment, not from the street".

“They went to an inappropriate place,” Iraqi lawmaker Iskander Witwit said of the Americans, insinuating the apartment was a brothel.

“Iraqi security forces are working very hard now to locate them.”

Another police officer told the Washington Post that the abductees were Amro Mohamed, Wael al-Mahdawi, and Rusul Farad. The US Embassy has not verified the names, however.

The Dora neighbourhood was a scene of major ethnic cleansing of Iraqi Christians during the sectarian violence of 2006-7 and is now controlled by the Iran-backed Asai'b Ahl al-Haqq militia.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Baghdad has been a hotspot for kidnappings, primarily of Iraqis.

In December, a party of Qatari hunters were abducted by unknown gunmen in a desert near the Saudi Arabian border.

Last week, Qatar's foreign minister said that Baghdad had a responsibility to ensure the release of the Qataris, who had been granted hunting permits by the Iraqi government.

“We are working closely with the Iraqi government. I think they should hold responsibility,” said Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah, speaking on the sidelines of a rights conference in Doha.

Asked if he was confident that they would be released, Attiyah said: “God willing.”