Nepal checking reports of kidnapped citizens in Iraq

"We have started checking files to see if any Nepalese went to Iraq through employment offices in Kathmandu," said an official at the ministry of labour and works.

"We are also investigating whether these people are Nepalese citizens or are people of Nepalese descent who hold other nationality," he said.

Information Minister Moham-mad Mohsin said separately that Nepal had instructed its embassy in Saudi Arabia to make contacts over the situation.

"The government at this point has no information about this incident," Mohsin said.

Nepal had advised its nationals not to go to Iraq, but media reports said employment agencies had tried to recruit Nepalese residents in neighbouring India.