Posted on 06/28/2004 9:13:13 AM PDT by The G Man
Unconfirmed Report: Kidnapped Tri-State Soldier Killed
1 hour, 24 minutes ago Add Local - WLWT ChannelCincinnati.com to My Yahoo!
There are unconfirmed reports that a soldier from the Tri-State kidnapped in April in Iraq (news - web sites) has been killed, WLWT has learned.
Pfc. Matt Maupin, 20, of Batavia, Ohio, a member of the 724th Transportation Company, was captured April 9. His convoy was attacked by gunmen using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.
According to military representatives close to the Maupin family who spoke to WLWT, sources are reporting that the Al Jazeera TV network has a videotape of Maupin being shot.
The military has not changed Maupin's status, and the report of his death has not been confirmed.
A tape showing Maupin being held by guerillas was released about a week after Maupin was reported missing.
Additional details are forthcoming.
Stay tuned to WLWT Eyewitness News 5 and refresh this ChannelCincinnati.com page for updates throughout the day.
I've heard stories about the russkies having to do with plain old ordinary wood screws and testicles.
Not very high tech.
But very effective.
aljazera performs a neccasary evil, without them only arabic websites would have access to this terrible crime. By airing this atrocity everyone gets to see it, not just the selected terrorist. Welcome to the 21st century.
Excuse me G man but your title sucks! This man...if he was killed was by no means executed. He was murdered! Being executed insinuates that he was tried and convicted. If this story is true he was murdered.
The title needs to be changed on this thread: It is indeed confirmed that Pfc. Matt Maupin has been murdered.
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has told the family of a soldier taken hostage in Iraq in April about the existence of a videotape that may show an execution, but has not confirmed that he has been killed, defense officials said on Monday.
They were speaking as Al Jazeera television aired a video tape showing what militants said was the execution of a U.S. soldier captured in Iraq in April. The footage showed the back of a man, who was not identified, and a militant shooting him.
A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Army notified the family of Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin, 20, "that there's a rumor Al Jazeera or an Arab network may have a tape of an execution, but we do not know if it's their son or not."
Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, has been missing since April 9, when his military fuel convoy was ambushed near Baghdad. He was a member of the Army Reserve's 724th Transportation Company based in Illinois. His captors sent video footage of him to Al Jazeera a week after he was seized.
"We wanted to make sure they knew about it since there was some media speculation out there. In the meantime, we have not found the young man nor have we changed his casualty status. He is still listed as captured," the official said.
"We don't know his fate," the official added.
After his capture, family, friends and well-wishers held a rally in support of Maupin, displayed yellow ribbons and lit candles in Batavia, a town about 15 miles east of Cincinnati.
A poor-quality tape shown by Al Jazeera on April 16 showed Maupin dressed in military fatigues sitting on a floor, held captive by masked and heavily armed guerrillas.
At one point, he identified himself in a soft voice. One guerrilla seen on the tape read from a statement, saying, "We are willing to exchange him for Iraqis held by the American enemy. ... This is the fate of all American soldiers in Iraq."
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Where's that other can of whoopass?
Terrible. I am furious. This was a good, brave, All-American kid-- those bastards killed him after they said they would treat him "mercifully."
What murdering savages. May they experience the Hellfire that Prime Minister Allawi spoke about.
Thank you. I heard on Fox about an hour ago that there are reports it's true.
IMO....part of the reason Iraq was given sovereignty after just over 1 year post war is to deal with these vermin. The politically correct crowd of leftists can't make a case if Iraq's own Prime Minister bombs the hell out of the terrorists. If Bush does it it's a different story. Now that Iraq "runs the show" the gloves can come off.
Look for MAJOR fireworks in the next few months against these cowardly bastards!!
Michael Moore is laughing with delight at this.
You're probably right that they're emailed; the media tends to report "delivered to Al Jazeera" however....in which case, we need to implant a chip into Peter Arnett.
Don't blame me. It wasn't my title. The original title was "Unconfirmed Report: local man executed" as it was from a Cincinnati website. I only changed it to "Matt Maupin Executed" in order to clarify things.
My guess is he was killed a long time ago, before the beheadings became in vogue.
He was killed in the same way the Italian hostage was killed, shot in the back of the head while blindfolded and sitting on the edge of his own freshly dug grave. My hunch is he was killed around the same time the Italian was.
RE: the Italian executed by the thugs...from my posting on another thread:
"One group of militants killed an Italian civilian in April but later freed three of his colleagues."
Fabrizio Quattrocchi was his name.
And we never saw the video of his execution...because he put up a FIGHT!
http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200406010827.asp
Heartbreaking news indeed. Prayers go out for his loved ones. May God have mercy on his soul.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.