Italian journalist kidnapped

Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, who has been missing in Iraq since last week, has been kidnapped by militants, according to a video broadcast on the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television station.

The Italian Foreign Ministry reported Baldoni missing on Friday and said he was believed to be in Najaf, the holy city south of Baghdad that has been the site of heavy fighting between militants and US forces for nearly three weeks.

Baldoni is a freelance journalist who went to Iraq for the news magazine Diario.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Enrico Deaglio, told the Ansa news agency that he last had contact with Baldoni on Wednesday.