The paper said it was urgently seeking information about the 33-year-old Republic of Ireland national.

Mr Carroll was coming to the end of a year-long assignment in Iraq. He was previously South Africa correspondent.

Dublin-born Mr Carroll was interviewed from Baghdad on Wednesday morning for RTE radio's Pat Kenny Show, about the start of Saddam Hussein's trial.

A few hours later, his family was informed by the editor of the Guardian that he had been "taken".

Aid worker

His father, Joe, told the BBC: "It was something we had been secretly dreading. We were hoping it would never happen."

Mr Carroll said his son had received specialised training for such situations.

"He knew we were worried but he used to reassure us and say it wasn't as dangerous as people outside think and if you observed basic rules of security, you'd be okay," he said.

"We knew he was playing it down for our sake. It was obvious danger.

"He did make it clear to us that he took all the precautions that he thought were necessary."

Update:

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme said Wednesday night from Baghdad that Carroll had watched the trial of Saddam Hussein. As he left, he was grabbed by six armed men.