BAGHDAD, Iraq — An American contractor was kidnapped Monday in the Baghdad area, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said.

The spokesman said on condition of anonymity that the contractor was working on a reconstruction project. The contractor's family had been notified of the abduction, he said.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. contractor was kidnapped Monday in the Baghdad area, and a pickup truck exploded near a U.S. convoy as it patrolled a crowded market in the troubled city of Samarra, killing at least three people and injuring more than 20 others, witnesses said.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman speaking on condition of anonymity said an American contractor working on a reconstruction project had been abducted around noon in the Baghdad area, but he refused to release other details. He said the contractor's family had been informed....