Three US soldiers went missing on Saturday west of the Iraqi capital and are thought to have been captured by insurgents, American troops taking part in the search told AFP.

"We got word about 0900 (0500 GMT) that three soldiers were missing. Last we heard was that they were headed in this direction, presumed captured," said Gunnery Sergeant James Curtis of the US Marines 2nd Battalion 6th Regiment.

Curtis's patrol threw up a checkpoint on a stretch of road on the eastern edge of the restive city of Fallujah in a bid to intercept the abductors if they attempted to take their captives out to the west of Baghdad.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070512/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestuskidnap_070512112650

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