Three American contractors were abducted from an apartment in Iraq on Jan. 15, a senior security official in Baghdad said Monday.

Reuters reports a group of armed men captured the three Americans from the Sihha residential complex in the capital's southeastern Dora neighborhood on Friday.

Numerous members of the parliament's security and defense panel confirmed the kidnapping, including official Mohammed al-Karbouli and deputy head Iskandar Witwit.

According to officials, the civilians were contractors for a private company. Two of the men taken were said to have dual Iraqi citizenship, while the third was an American national. An anonymous general identified the abducted Americans as two men, Amro Mohamed and Wael al-Mahdawi, and one woman, Rusul Farad. The city's U.S. Embassy has not yet verified the names.

According to The Washington Post, a resident at the complex where the incident occurred said the trio were taken from a second floor apartment that he described as a "brothel." However, the term can sometimes be used to refer to any building that accepts foreigners, and a colonel was cited as saying the group were visiting the home of an Iraqi interpreter.

The resident went on to say that the apartment was frequently raided by authorities. The Baghdad Operations Command described the apartment as "suspicious." Witwit said the three Americans visited an "inappropriate place."

Years ago, Dora was considered a dangerous area, rife with insurgency. The district now maintains a heavy federal police presence. However, some parts remain under the control of Shiite militias, who often conduct raids and have in the past been accused of abducting foreign nationals.

A Baghdad intelligence officer told CNN that a security operation was underway in the al-Saha area of the Dora district. The neighborhood was also said to have been "sealed" by authorities searching for the abducted Americans.

The motives of the kidnappers are currently unknown.

U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby commented on the incident Sunday.

"We are aware of reports that American citizens are missing in Iraq," Kirby said. "The safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority. We are working with the full cooperation of the Iraqi authorities to locate and recover the individuals."

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