Abducted American troops 'are alive'

The top US commander in Iraq thinks he knows who kidnapped three US soldiers last weekend and believes that at least two of them are alive, the Army Times newspaper reported.

"We know who that guy is", General David Petraeus said in an interview posted today on the Army Times website.

Petraeus did not give the man's name but described him as "sort of an affiliate of al-Qaida. He's the big player down in that area. We've tangled with him before".

According to the newspaper, Petraeus said he did not know for certain whether the three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were alive.

"As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive," he said. "At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don't know."

Petraeus spoke with the Army Times late on Friday, his staff said.

US forces have been searching for the three since they went missing May 12 after a pre-dawn attack on their observation position about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Four US soldiers and an Iraqi were killed.

According to the Army Times, Petraeus said an informant passed the information on who probably led the attack.

"Somebody's given us the names of all the guys that participated in it and told us how they did it, and all the rest of that stuff," he said. "Now, we have to verify that at some point in time, but it sounds spot on. We've had all kinds of tips down there. We just tragically haven't found the individuals."