Two US troops and seven contractors were confirmed missing following an attack on a convoy west of Baghdad, a US commander said, amid a wave of abductions of foreigners in Iraq.

More than 40 foreigners from at least 12 countries have reportedly been kidnapped in recent days by insurgents.

Seven Chinese men abducted by gunmen in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were freed late Monday after a day in captivity, the Chinese government said.

Early Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said that eight employees of a Russian company had been kidnapped, the Interfax news agency reported. The report, citing an unnamed ministry official, came hours after the Arab television channel al-Jazeera reported that 11 Russians had been seized during a clash in Baghdad. Al-Jazeera said two Iraqi security guards working for the Russians "may have been" killed during a gunfight with the kidnappers.

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