1 soldier missing, 30 wounded in blast near power station

Protecting power plants against insurgent attacks is part of the U.S. mission

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was missing Friday, a day after a suicide truck bombing killed two soldiers and wounded another 30 west of Baghdad, U.S. military officials said.

The soldier "has been reported as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown," the military said, without elaborating.

Neither U.S. military officials in Iraq nor in Washington would say whether they believed the soldier had been abducted or whether he may have been killed in the attack, and his remains had not been recovered.

"I'm sorry to add that we now have a soldier that we are counting as missing," Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli said in a video news conference from Baghdad with reporters at the Pentagon.

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