US soldier missing in Baghdad

BAGHDAD - A US soldier was reported missing in Baghdad on Monday, the military said, and troops backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters were conducting house-to-house searches in the capital's centre at night.

The soldier, part of a multi-national division in the Iraqi capital, went missing at about 7:30pm local time, the US military said in a statement.

"Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces immediately responded to attempt to locate the soldier, the search is ongoing," the statement said.

US troops in Humvee armoured vehicles launched an intensive search in Baghdad's central Karrada district, combing houses, hotels and a Shi'ite television centre as they looked for the missing soldier, senior Iraqi security officials said.

The sound of military helicopters could be heard flying over central Baghdad, which was under a regular night curfew.

"There is a security perimeter in Karrada. They (Americans) are searching houses, hotels and al-Furat," an Iraqi security source told Reuters. Al-Furat is a television station linked to a Shi'ite party with an office in the central Karrada district.

The US military said last week it was reviewing strategy in Baghdad, where US reinforcements have failed to halt spiralling violence, and expressed grave concern about mounting troop deaths.

US Major General William Caldwell has said the number of attacks targeting security forces in Baghdad had risen since US troops launched a crackdown designed to end sectarian violence that kills dozens of people every day.

October looks set to become the deadliest month for US troops in Iraq this year. At least 86 US soldiers have died in October alone, adding election-year pressure to US President George W Bush to review his Iraq policy.

In June, two US soldiers were kidnapped near the town of Yusufiya, an al Qaeda stronghold south of Baghdad. Their badly mutilated bodies were found shortly after near where they were snatched.

- REUTERS