A U.S. contractor was kidnapped Monday in the Baghdad area, the latest in a string of abductions that have forced many foreigners to work in Iraq under armed guard. A pickup truck also exploded near a U.S. convoy as it patrolled a crowded market in the city of Samarra, killing at least three people and injuring more than 20 others.
Three suicide bombers also hit a Marine outpost in western Iraq, injuring three Marines and three civilians.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman said the American contractor, who was working on a reconstruction project, had been abducted around noon. He refused to release an identity or other details, but said the contractor's family had been informed.
Officials in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, said a pickup truck exploded in a crowded market shortly before the nightly 8 p.m. curfew for cars. At least three people died and more than 20 were injured, most women and children, hospital official Abdul Nasir Hamid said. Witnesses said the explosion took place near American soldiers who were patrolling the market.
