2 Americans ( Jack Hensley and Eugene Jack Armstrong) 1 Briton Kidnapped in Iraq
Source: Bloomberg
Two Americans and a Briton were kidnapped from their residence in the Mansour district of Baghdad by unknown gunmen this morning, the U.S. embassy there said in an e-mailed statement from the Iraqi capital.
The Americans were identified as Jack Hensley and Eugene Jack Armstrong, while the Briton wasn´t named in the statement. The British Foreign Office confirmed that a British man was kidnapped with the Americans and declined to identify him.
``The U.S. government is using all available means to locate them,´´ the embassy statement said. ``The Iraqi government is also fully assisting.´´
Kidnapping of foreign citizens has become a common practice in Iraq, with some victims being released for money. Others, including U.S. citizen Nicholas Berg, Italian hostage Fabrizio Quattrocchi and Kim Sun Il, a South Korean, were killed. Berg and Kim were both beheaded.
Today´s kidnap victims are contractors, according to the British Foreign Office, which declined to provide further details. The men´s residence also serves as the offices of al- Khaleej Services Company, Cable News Network reported, citing Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Adnan Abdul Rahman.
A guard who is usually on duty at the facility didn´t show up Wednesday night, an unidentified neighbor told CNN. Eleven kidnappers in civilian clothing drove up to the residence in a minibus and a sedan, and six went in and abducted the foreigners, an unidentified police official told CNN.