Polish workers kidnapped in Iraq

Poland leads a multinational force in south-central Iraq

Two Polish civilian contractors were kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday by unidentified men who called at the apartment where they were lodging.

One of the Poles managed to escape unharmed after he had been bundled into a waiting car.

A spokesman for the Polish military contingent said a search was under way for the second contractor.

Poland has 2,400 troops in Iraq, but few Polish civilians are thought to remain after a spate of kidnappings.

Three Kurdish security guards and two locally-hired female employees were also abducted, a spokesman for the construction company they were working for said.

Andrzej Polaczkiewicz told Polish TV that the kidnappers burst into company offices, adding that the attack was well prepared.

Baghdad lies in a sector controlled by US troops.