Russian hostages taken in Iraq

Gunmen took the men hostage as they returned from a power plant

One Russian national has been killed and two others taken hostage in an attack in Baghdad, the Russian foreign ministry has confirmed.

The ministry said their vehicle was attacked as the contractors returned from work at a power station south of the Iraqi capital.

A spokesman said Moscow was taking all possible measures to free the hostages.

Elsewhere, at least three people have been killed after a bomb exploded in a crowded marketplace in Kirkuk.

The attack, in the northern Iraqi town, happened at about 0930 (0530 GMT).

Supply convoy hit

In mid-April, the US said 40 foreign nationals had been abducted in Iraq; current hostage numbers are less clear.

Meanwhile, gunmen attacked a civilian supply convoy on its way to Baghdad from Jordan on Tuesday.

Several vehicles in the convoy were destroyed in the attack close to Rutba, near the Jordanian border, and several people were missing, unnamed US officials have said.

Reuters reported that the convoy may have belonged to a sub-contractor to Kellogg, Brown and Root, which supplies US troops in Iraq, but the firm said it was unaware of any attack on Tuesday.

Dutch 'horror' at death

The Dutch government has reacted with shock after its 1,260-strong contingent in Iraq suffered its first death.

A Dutch soldier died after being wounded in a grenade attack while on patrol in the southern town of Samawa.

The government media service said Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende learned "with horror" of the death of the 36-year-old soldier and was expected to cut short a foreign holiday and return to the Netherlands.

US troops also killed 13 members of rebel Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army in clashes near the city of Kufa overnight, a senior US military official said.

The spokesman said 14 militiamen were captured in the town, close to the holy city of Najaf where Mr Sadr is currently based.

Mr Sadr's spokesmen say the US military routinely exaggerates Mehdi Army casualties.