"We know that she worked for the US army. It's not clear if she is Polish or a US citizen of Polish origin," said the correspondent, who is based with Polish forces in Iraq.

Arabic television station Al-Jazeera broadcast a video Thursday in which an armed group in Iraq said it had kidnapped a Polish woman.

The group, calling itself Abu Bakr Siddiq Al-Salafiya, called for the withdrawal of Polish forces in Iraq in the video, which showed the hostage with two armed and masked men.

A close ally of Washington in the Iraq conflict, Poland commands a 6,000-man multinational force in a sector south of Baghdad, of whom 2,500 are Polish soldiers.

The Polish army general staff in Warsaw said it was unable to confirm the kidnapping and had learnt of it from television reports.

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