One of the neighbors, who identified herself as Um Ibrahim, said she heard the kidnappers tell the contractors to "walk quickly" and then to "get in the car."
Another neighbor, Ziyad Tariq, said he saw one of the captors dragging a hostage by the collar and pushing him into a car parked outside the house.
U.S. soldiers stand in front of the Baghdad house where three foreign contractors were captured by insurgents.
(Faleh Kheiber -- Reuters)
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Tariq said that the contractors had two guards but that neither was on duty at the time of the kidnapping. Abbas, the company spokesman, said the house was supposed to be protected by armed guards 24 hours a day.
The contractors had tried to blend into the upscale neighborhood of large, walled-off homes. There were no concrete barriers or other indications that Westerners were living inside. Neighbors described the contractors as polite, discreet men who had lived there for eight months.
"They came to help the Iraqis," Ibrahim said. "Why do they want to hurt them? This is not fair."
Thursday's incident, like the kidnapping of the Italian aid workers, suggested that foreigners' attempts to blend into the community by not having conspicuous armed guards and other security measures have not fooled insurgents. The Italians, both women, were captured with two Iraqi employees inside their office, which was not guarded.
Other foreigners believed to be in the hands of insurgents include two French journalists and an Iraqi American businessman.
Special correspondent Bassam Sebti contributed to this report.
