Parents call missing U.S. soldier 'man of peace'

Story Highlights

• NEW: Parents say missing soldier wanted to help his old, new countries
• U.S. military releases name of missing soldier, confirms he had Iraqi wife
• Five killed, 45 wounded, in Sadr City bombing
• Gunmen kill professor, his wife and son in Baghdad

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ANN ARBOR, Michigan (CNN) -- The parents of a U.S. soldier who may have been captured in Baghdad say their son is a "man of peace" who wants to help both his native Iraq and his adopted country, the United States.

From their Michigan home, Kousay and Nawal Altaie told CNN on Thursday that they appreciate the U.S. military and the FBI's efforts to find their missing son, Army Spc. Ahmed Altaie.

Altaie was abducted from a relative's home in the Iraqi capital on October 23, a relative relayed to the military.

Nawal Altaie said her son came to the United States as a teenager and wants to "help both sides and bring peace." (Watch details of reported capture, search -- 1:39 )

The 41-year-old reservist had worked in aircraft maintenance before enlisting in the Army as a translator, according to his parents.

Military officials said Thursday that Altaie enlisted joined the reserves two years ago and was sent to Iraq in November.

The parents said Altaie's tour of duty had been scheduled to end last month, but he extended it by six months.

Altaie is married to an Iraqi woman who lives in Baghdad. His parents said the couple met in Baghdad before he began his military service, and they had planned to move together to America.

Earlier reports had raised the question of whether the soldier's marriage to an Iraqi violated military regulations, which forbid troops from marrying citizens of a country where U.S. forces are engaged in combat.

But in his weekly news briefing, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Altaie had not violated any rules, because the couple had married before he deployed to Iraq.

The parents said they did not know where their son was being held.

Troops working 'around the clock' to find Altaie

Caldwell said the soldier left the Green Zone on October 23 to visit his wife.

Altaie, was handcuffed and taken away by gunmen, according to a relative.

Caldwell said that along with significant military activity there is a "tremendous amount of political activity" and "ongoing dialogue" to find the soldier.

The military has intelligence on who might have taken the soldier and that the people who kidnapped Altaie probably still have him, Caldwell said. But he would not name the suspects. He did say there has been "a particular focus east of the Tigris River."

Asked if the U.S. military was in contact with the kidnappers, directly or indirectly, Caldwell said, "There is ongoing dialogue that is being done at different levels at this time, but it would be inappropriate for me to state with whom or at what level."

"Iraqi security forces and coalition troops are working around the clock to return him [Altaie] to safety, get him back to his family and to catch the perpetrators of this crime," he said.

There have been more than 240 tips, prompting "37 specific missions to find our soldier," Caldwell said.

There are more than 2,000 coalition forces troops and more than 1,000 Iraq security forces troops involved in the search, Caldwell said.

32 people have been detained, he said. One coalition soldier has been killed and eight U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi security forces have been wounded in the effort to find the missing soldier and his abductors.

Sadr City bomb and 5 more dead troops

Five people were killed and 45 others were wounded Thursday in a bombing in Baghdad's Sadr City, police told CNN.

A parked motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated in a busy outdoor market around 4:15 p.m.

Sadr City is the restive Shiite slum in the Iraqi capital that has been one focus of the search for Altaie.

A spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responded Thursday to criticism that the government was not doing enough to combat Shiite death squads.

The criticism came from Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a leading Sunni Arab politician. He said Wednesday that Shiite terrorists killing Sunnis were emboldened after al-Maliki opened some checkpoints Tuesday around the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City during a massive hunt for Altaie.

Al-Maliki is a Shiite, and his government is dominated by Shiites. Al-Hashimi said security was applied unfairly, implying that Sunni regions were treated more strictly than Shiite regions.

Al-Hashimi said it would have been best to consult a group of political bloc leaders called the Political Council for National Security before the checkpoint decision was made.

Al-Dabbagh disputed that. "All people are equal and everyone is subjected to the law. No one is above the law," he said.

On Thursday, Caldwell characterized Al-Sadr, whose backers have tangled with U.S. troops and are thought to be involved in Shiite death squad activity, in politically optimistic terms.

"I think what you'll find is that he is part of the political process of this nation, and, in fact, has 30 seats on the Council of Representatives," Caldwell said. "And from the comments he's made recently, he wants to see violence reduced. He wants to see greater peace and security for Iraqis. He wants to see greater reconciliation and dialogue."

Elsewhere, gunmen shot and killed a professor along with his wife and son Thursday as they drove in northern Baghdad, officials with Iraq's Health and Interior Ministries said. According to the officials, Jasim Mohammed al-Zahri was dean of the Economic and Management college at Mustansariya University.

Also on Thursday four U.S. soldiers and a Marine died in Iraq, the military said in statements.

Three of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers were killed when the vehicle they were riding in hit a roadside bomb. No further details were released.

The fourth Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier died in a "non-combat-related incident" south of Baghdad, according to the military.

The Marine died from injuries sustained in "enemy action" while operating in Iraq's volatile Anbar province. The names of the soldiers and the Marine were withheld pending notification of relatives, the military said.

The deaths bring to 2,824 the number of U.S. troops who have died since the war in Iraq began.

Arms-bearing donkeys intercepted

Iraqi security forces intercepted six donkeys carrying 53 anti-tank mines and an anti-tank rocket near the Iranian border in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The action took place in eastern Diyala province about 3 miles from the border, where the Iraqi forces had been patrolling, the U.S. military said.

Two men in the area ran away before they could be captured, and the donkeys were later let go after a coalition forces explosive experts team safety detonated the weapons.

The bomb team determined that the mines were Soviet and Italian-made. One was set up to be used as a roadside bomb, the military said.

To the west, in Anbar province, a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed an al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist leader Wednesday, a U.S. military statement said.

Rafa Abdul Salam Hamud Al Ithawi, also known as Abu Taha, was killed with "precision laser guided munitions" targeting his car, east of Ramadi, which is about 50 miles west of the Iraqi capital. His driver was also killed, the statement said.

Other developments

In an assessment for a military journal, a U.S. Army officer who advised Iraqi troops concludes the ultimate goal of having Iraq control its security "will exceed" the new army's capability "for some time to come." In an article for the July/August Military Review, Lt. Col. Carl D. Grunow wrote that "without steadfast American support, these officers and soldiers will likely give up and consider the entire effort a lost cause." (Full story)

Bechtel Corp. is wrapping up more than three years of work that cost the U.S. government $2.3 billion, AP reports. The company suffered a spree of violence that killed 52 workers in Iraq. (Watch dangers faced by Bechtel and other contractors -- 1:46)

CNN's Allan Chernoff, Jomana Karadsheh, Erin McLaughlin, Mohammed Tawfeeq, and Michael Ware contributed to this report.

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