BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi police are stepping up the search for the kidnapped US journalist Jill Carroll as the deadline set by her captors for US to meet their demands passed on Sunday.

An undated photo of US journalist Jill Carroll.The fate of Carroll was unknown as the deadline set by her captors for US to meet their demands passed on Sunday. (Reuters photo)

    An Iraqi Interior Ministry official said an extensive search was underway for Carroll but had so far failed to find her.

    "Our forces raided some suspected places, but she was not there," Major Falah al-Muhammedawi said.

    "We are watching the situation closely."

    The 28-year-old freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor was kidnapped on a Baghdad street on Jan. 7 and her translator was killed. Muslim leaders have joined her family, friends and colleagues in calling for her release.

    Kidnappers had set February 26 as the deadline for US and Iraqi authorities to meet their demands or they would kill Carroll.

    The kidnappers demanded the release of all women detainees in Iraq.

        Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, more than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped. Enditem

(Agencies)