Three journalists of the Iranian state news agency IRNA were arrested by Iraqi police, the official IRNA agency reported Wednesday.

An earlier report by Iranian state television said they were kidnapped.

The agency said Iraqi police confiscated the equipment of the three, who are identified as IRNA's Baghdad bureau chief Mostafa Darban and two Iraqi staff.

IRNA quoted Iraqi police as saying that they were aware of the case, but did not reveal who arrested them.

The agency's office in Baghdad has been out of telephone contact with Tehran since Monday, and the Iranian embassy was following the case.

Source: Xinhua