By Agencies

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A US military contractor is believed to have been kidnapped in Iraq after an armed group released a video  showing a man being held captive.

The video was released by a group calling itself Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous, just hours after the US defence department said that 60-year-old Issa T Salomi had been missing since January 23.

In the video, which runs less than two minutes, he read out the group's demands for the release of detainees who had "resisted occupation" and "never been involved in any serious crime against their fellow innocent Iraqis".

The captive also called for the conviction of employees of US security firm Blackwater, since renamed as Xe Services, accused of killing unarmed Iraqi citizens in 2007.

"The second demand is to bring the proper justice and the proper punishment to those members of the Blackwater company that have committed unjustifiable crimes against innocent Iraqi citizens," he said.

"I also would like to relay the justifiable demand of the Iraqi Islamic resistance for the complete withdrawal from Iraq, so Iraq can become a sovereign nation."

Hostage 'deal'

Asaib Ahl al-Haq was believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of Peter Moore, a British IT expert, and his four bodyguards in May 2007.

Moore was released last year, but three of the bodyguards have been confirmed killed and the fourth is still missing.

A senior leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq was reported as telling the Reuters news agency on Saturday that the abducted contractor, whom he did not name, was seized because the government was not keeping a promise to free the group's supporters from prison.

Such a deal was widely believed to have been behind the release of Moore in December, despite Iraqi and British government denials of a link.

"The government is carrying out many violations against us," the leader was quoted as telling Reuters.

If the kidnapping of Salomi confirmed, it will be the first of a foreigner in Iraq since the group took Moore.

The US military has not commented on the video.