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Issa Salomi of El Cajon, Calif., was last seen Jan. 23, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement.

A video posted Thursday on an Iraqi Web site showed a man identified only as an American who was being held hostage. The kidnappers, identified as a Shiite militant group, the League of the Righteous, demanded the punishment of Blackwater guards involved in the 2007 shooting of Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, The Washington Post reported.

The authenticity of the tape had not been verified and U.S. military officials declined to comment on the video.

The League of the Righteous split off from the group headed by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The Post said the kidnapping suggests efforts at reconciliation between the league and the government have stalled.

An Iraqi intelligence official told the Post Salomi, an Iraqi-American, was visiting relatives when he was abducted.

Under the agreement in force in 2007, U.S. contractors were protected from prosecution in Iraq. Charges against the Blackwater guards involved in the 2007 shooting were recently dismissed by a U.S. judge.

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