US Embassy Says Several Americans Missing in Iraq

The U.S Embassy in Baghdad confirms that "several" Americans are missing in Iraq according to the Associated Press.

U.S Embassy spokesman Scott Bolz said, "We are working in full cooperation with Iraqi authorities to locate the missing Americans."

The Embassy confirmed the three Americans had been kidnapped Sunday after several international news sources were reporting it.

Bolz issued the statement after the Arab news channel, al-Arabiya, citing its own sources, reported that three Americans had been kidnapped by militias in Baghdad.

The Independent reports that the kidnapping comes at a time of increased tensions between the predominantly Shia militias of southern Iraq and U.S.-backed Saudi Arabia, following Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.