Search on for missing U.S. soldier in Iraq

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A search is under way for a U.S. soldier who went missing in Iraq Monday evening, amid fears the soldier might have been kidnapped.

The soldier, whose identity has not been released by the military, is an Iraqi-American working as a translator.

In the effort to find the soldier, U.S. forces searched the headquarters of Al-Furat TV. The AP reports the troops disarmed 40 guards, but allowed the management and editorial teams to continue working. (Watch update on missing soldier -- 4:00)

The search of the TV station, which is linked to Iraq's largest political bloc, brought the country's national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, to the scene, an Iraqi government security official told CNN.

Al-Rubaie demanded that the weapons be returned, and they were, according to CNN correspondent John Roberts, who was embedded with troops conducting the search.

The duty status of the soldier, who has not been identified, was listed as "whereabouts unknown" at 7:30 p.m. Baghdad time, according to a statement from the military.

Roberts reported that when the soldier was first noticed missing at 5:30 p.m., the U.S. troops Roberts was with searched for more than two hours. (CNN's John Roberts was embedded with troops searching for soldier)

Coalition troops and Iraqi security forces will continue to search for the missing soldier, the military statement said.

Violent month

The soldier's disappearance comes during an especially violent period in Iraq.

Weekend attacks across Iraq brought the military's death toll for the month to 87 -- the highest this year.

Five Marines were killed by enemy action in Anbar on Saturday, while one soldier died in combat in Iraq's Salaheddin province. On Sunday, attacks across the Iraqi capital killed six U.S. soldiers

The number of U.S. military personnel killed since the Iraq war began in 2003 stands at 2,800. Seven American military contractors also have died.

Bombs target shoppers before end of Ramadan

Sectarian and insurgent attacks have increased during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week. (Watch young Iraqis describe growing up in the war -- 2:15 )

At least 12 Iraqis died in violence Monday in Baghdad, including six civilians, Iraqi emergency police said.

A bomb in a parked car detonated on Palestine Street in the eastern part of the capital, killing one civilian and wounding 13, police said. Shortly afterward, a car bomb went off in a busy market in the western neighborhood of Hurriya, killing four civilians and wounding six.

Both attacks targeted Iraqi civilians shopping for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan. (Watch how a festive time becomes a frightening time -- 1:38 )

Earlier Monday, a roadside bomb killed two policemen and wounded four others in western Baghdad's Ghazaliya neighborhood.

Gunmen opened fire on a car carrying members of security services for Iraq's oil facilities, killing four in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Fadhel.

Gunmen also stormed a hairdresser's shop in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Zayouna, killing a woman who was the shop's owner.

An average of 43 Iraqis per day have been killed during Ramadan, which began in late September, according to a count by the AP. This figure compares with an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005, the AP said.

Other developments

As the bloodshed rages in Iraq two weeks before U.S. midterm elections, the White House on Monday said that its policy for the war "has never been a stay-the-course strategy." (Full story)

With pressure growing in the United States and Britain to change strategy, Iraq's deputy prime minister urged the international community not "to cut and run" as he visited with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, England, Reuters reported. (Full story)

The Iraqi Defense Ministry imposed a curfew Monday for the southeastern city of Amara after fighting last week between police and the Mehdi Army militia loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The curfew will be in place until further notice, police said. Amara remains quiet after clashes killed at least 16 and wounded 90 others, a hospital official said. Amara is in the heart of the Shiite-dominated south near the Iraq-Iran border.

U.S.-led coalition forces killed five suspected insurgents Monday during a raid on a building near Balad, north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

CNN's Arwa Damon, Jomana Karadsheh, John Roberts and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

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