BAGHDAD — Five U.S. contractors have been detained in the investigation of the slaying of another American in Baghdad's Green Zone, officials said yesterday, in what may become the first case of U.S. citizens facing Iraqi justice under a security agreement that took effect this year.

U.S. and Iraqi officials said the five have not been charged in the death of Jim Kitterman, whose body was found May 22 in his car in the Green Zone. He had been blindfolded, bound and stabbed.

Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the Americans were being held at an Iraqi police station inside the Green Zone "in connection with a joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation" into Kitterman's death but gave no further details.

DOCTOR'S ALLEGED KILLER WARNS OF VIOLENCE

WICHITA, Kan. — The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion doctor called The Associated Press yesterday from the jail where he is being held and claimed that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a threat that comes days after a federal investigation launched into his possible accomplices.

A Justice Department spokesman said Scott Roeder's threat was being taken seriously and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics last week. Roeder is being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller one week ago.

MORE AIR FRANCE BODIES, DEBRIS FOUND

RECIFE, Brazil — Search ships methodically worked through debris from a doomed Air France jet yesterday, recovering 15 more bodies near the spot where the Airbus A330 is believed to have gone down a week ago.

Two bodies were recovered Saturday, and Brazilian and French ships picked up the others yesterday after pilots participating in a grid search reported additional sightings. The bodies have been found in an area about 45 miles from where the jet sent out messages signaling electrical failures and loss of cabin pressure.

KIDNAPPING SUSPECT, TROOPER KILLED

TOBYHANNA, Pa. — A man who kidnapped a boy in northeastern Pennsylvania was killed and a state police trooper later died after an exchange of gunfire following a chase last night that ended in the Pocono Mountains, police said.

The chase began outside Easton following a custody dispute at a home and ended about 40 miles away in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, when the suspect crashed his car, police said. The suspect and police then traded gunfire. Two troopers were wounded and were taken to the hospital. One of them later died.

The boy in the car with the suspect was not shot.

Police have not yet determined the relationship between the boy and the suspect.

NAGIN, WIFE UNDER FLU QUARANTINE IN CHINA

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and his wife have been quarantined in China after a passenger on their flight exhibited flulike symptoms.

Nagin's office said yesterday the couple and a security guard were quarantined at a hotel in Shanghai as a precaution and were exhibiting no swine flu symptoms. His office said a passenger had "signs and symptoms of an influenza-like illness suspected to be of the H1N1 subtype."

A spokeswoman said people sitting near that passenger on the flight from Newark, N.J., were quarantined. There was no word on what flight it was or how many people were aboard. The spokeswoman said Nagin, who was on an economic development trip, and his wife have not been tested for swine flu.

PRO-WESTERN FACTION WINS LEBANON VOTE

BEIRUT — Lebanon's pro-Western coalition declared victory early today, as local television stations reported the faction had successfully fended off a serious challenge by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies to grab the majority in parliament.

Official results for yesterday's election were not expected until later today.

The election was an early test of President Obama's efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers, Iran and Syria, and risked pushing one of the region's most volatile nations into international isolation and possibly into more conflict with Israel.