Iraqi security forces deployed in area where US nationals reported missing

Baghdad: Iraqi security forces set up checkpoints on Monday in the Dora neighborhood southeast of Baghdad, where media reports have said three US nationals were kidnapped on Friday, witnesses said.

Two Iraqi army helicopters were also seen hovering over the district while police SUVs were patrolling the streets. The U.S. State Department said on Sunday it was working with Iraqi authorities to locate Americans reported missing, without confirming that they had been kidnapped.

Dubai-based news channel Al Arabiya reported on Sunday that three U.S. nationals had been kidnapped in Dora on Friday. Citing its own sources, it said the Americans were "contractors or trainers" employed by U.S. companies at the Baghdad airport.