A French Christian charity has said four of its employees are missing in Iraq.
SOS Chretiens d'Orient (Christians of the Middle East) said the three French nationals and one Iraqi were last seen in Baghdad late Monday afternoon.
French and Iraq authorities are investigating after several attempts to contact the workers on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
For security reasons, SOS Chretiens d'Orient has not revealed the identity of those missing, but described them as “four experienced employees, in good health and with perfect knowledge of crisis zones”.
The organisation added: “To date, we have received no request for ransom, nor information on the fate of our four friends and collaborators.
“We are of course in close contact with their families. The association and all our teams share their terrible concern.”
The employees were in Baghdad for administrative work including renewing visas and registering the organisation with authorities. They were also there to “monitor the association's operations in Iraq, including the opening of a new school”.
SOS Chretiens d'Orient is a Christian humanitarian charity that helps people in war-torn areas in the Middle East.