Japan confirms hostage taken in Iraq

TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said on Tuesday a Japanese employee of a foreign security firm had been kidnapped in Iraq, Kyodo news agency reported. 

Islamic militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna said earlier that it had abducted a Japanese national working at a US base in Iraq, according to a statement posted on the internet.  

The group posted on its website a picture of a Japanese passport bearing the name Akihiko Saito as well as an identification card saying he was a security manager.  

- REUTERS