The Bangladesh government confirmed Saturday the identity of one of its nationals taken hostage by militants in Iraq, officials said. Abul Kashem, 42, a truck driver who works for a Kuwaiti transport company, was abducted near a U.S. military base in Iraq last week, Minister for Overseas Employment Mohammed Quamrul Islam said. "We are working closely with our ambassadors in the Middle East to locate and rescue him," Islam told The Associated Press. He said the hostage-takers have made no contact with Bangladeshi authorities. The Foreign Ministry said it has asked Bangladeshi envoys in Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar to monitor the situation.
