BAGHDAD, June 3 -- The four kidnapped Russian embassy employees were rescued by Iraqi police in west of Baghdad Saturday evening, an Iraqi Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

Russian embassy in Baghdad [Xinhua/AFP]

"The four people were rescued in the al-Qadisiya district in west of Baghdad and now they are with the police," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, unidentified gunmen attacked a Russian embassy vehicle in Baghdad's Mansur neighborhood, killing one diplomat and kidnapping four others, a police source said.

The source said the gunmen traveling in several cars chased the Russian embassy car carrying five Russian diplomats and opened fire at the vehicle in the 14th Ramadan Street in the Mansur neighborhood.

Four diplomats were kidnapped and a fifth, wounded by the gunfire, died of his wounds, the source added.

Violence has persisted in Iraq despite the formation of a new national unity government on May 20.