US contractor missing and believed kidnapped in Iraq

The case marks the first reported kidnapping of an American citizen in Iraq in more than 18 months.

The League of the Righteous, a militant group that has kidnapped Westerners in Iraq in the past, posted a statement and video on its website Thursday showing the hostage. The statement demanded the release of militants who have fought US forces and punishment of the guards employed by Blackwater Worldwide - now known as Xe Services - who were involved in a shooting in Baghdad in 2007 that claimed the lives of 14 Iraqis.

The Pentagon said in a prepared statement that contractor Issa T. Salomi, 60, of El Cajon, Calif., has been missing since Jan. 23. He was last seen in Baghdad, where he worked alongside US soldiers. Salomi’s wife, Muna, confirmed that the man in the video is her husband.

The Pentagon said that “search and recovery efforts are ongoing’’ but disclosed no additional information.

General Hussein Kamal, the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s director of intelligence and criminal investigations, said Salomi was kidnapped in Karrada, an upscale district in central Baghdad.

Another Iraqi intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Salomi, who is of Iraqi descent, was visiting relatives when he was taken hostage.

US officials have cautioned that kidnapping remains a serious threat for American government employees and civilians in Iraq. They say they worry that finding abducted Americans in Baghdad will be more challenging under regulations that first went into effect last summer.

The rules, imposed as part of the nominal withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities, have restricted the movement and authority of US troops in urban areas.

In the short video released by the militant group, a man wearing US combat fatigues - which US interpreters wear - says he is in good health and reports that he is being treated humanely.

The man, who does not identify himself, calls for the release of “those detainees who have resisted the occupation and that have never been involved in any serious crime against their fellow innocent Iraqis.’’

The man also says the Blackwater guards involved in the shooting in the capital’s Nisoor Square should face “proper justice’’ and “proper punishment’’ for what he describes as “unjustifiable crimes against innocent Iraqi civilians who were bystanders.’’

A US district court judge dismissed an indictment Dec. 31 against five of the guards charged in the shooting, saying prosecutors and investigators made serious mistakes in preparing the case.

In the video, the captive speaks calmly and is seen sitting on a chair in front of a banner bearing the name of the militant group.

“I would also like to relay the justifiable demands of the Iraqi Islamic resistance movement for the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq so Iraq can become a sovereign nation again,’’ he says at the end of the video.

Reached at home, Salomi’s wife, Muna, 52, said she was distraught. “I’m very sick,’’ she said. “I cannot talk.’’

Last month, Qais al-Khazaali, a leading figure in the League of the Righteous and a former lieutenant to fiery Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was released from US custody and freed by Iraqi officials.

His release came a day after the release of British hostage Peter Moore, who was abducted in 2006 from the Iraqi Finance Ministry, along with four bodyguards. Those releases were widely seen as an exchange.

The League of the Righteous has been in reconciliation talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government. Last week, however, group leaders accused the government of balking on its promise to release detainees.

US military officials say they fear violence could surge if talks between the group and the Iraqi government collapse.