Missing Americans in Iraq kidnapped by Iran-backed Shiite militia

The three American citizens who went missing in Baghdad last week have been kidnapped by an Iranian-backed Shiite militia according to U.S. government and Iraqi intelligence sources quoted by the Reuters news agency.

It's not clear exactly which militia is involved.

Washington says it has no reason to believe that Tehran gave the order for the abductions or their transport to ran.

"They were abducted because they are Americans, not for personal or financial reasons," argued one Iraqi source in the Reuters story.

An Iraq analyst and government adviser, Hisham al-Hashemi, believes these kidnappings were a bid on the part of the militia to embarrass a Baghdad which is trying to maintaining friendly relations with both Tehran and Washington.

"The militias are resentful of the success of the army in Ramadi which was achieved with the support of the U.S.-led coalition and without their involvement," Heshemi explained.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby acknowledged the incident in a press conference where he siad that, "The picture is becoming a little bit more clear in terms of what might have happened." He didn't elaborate however nor disclose whether or not U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry contacted Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on the matter.

The three kidnapped Americans were reportedly working for General Dynamics Corp as part of a contract with the United States Army.