Posted on 01/21/2005 8:18:08 AM PST by Tarpaulin
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Militants loyal to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beheaded an Iraqi soldier in a rebel stronghold in broad daylight on Friday and left a note warning other Iraqi troops to quit, witnesses said.
They said nine men pulled up in two cars to the center of Ramadi, dragged the soldier out of one of the vehicles and cut off his head as residents looked on.
They left the body, dressed in army fatigues, in the street with the severed head placed on the torso.
A note was found at the scene purporting to be from Zarqawi's group, Al Qaeda Organization of Holy War in Iraq (news - web sites), warning Iraqi soldiers, National Guards and police that a similar fate awaited them.
Iraq's fledgling security forces have borne the brunt of attacks by insurgents who accuse them of collaborating with U.S.-led forces they want to expel from Iraq.
Insurgents often clash with U.S. and Iraqi troops in Ramadi, a restive city some 110 km (68 miles) west of the capital, where anti-American sentiment runs high.
Earlier on Friday, residents tore up leaflets U.S. troops were handing out in Ramadi encouraging people to vote.
Interest in the elections is low in Sunni Muslim Ramadi, where few voters have registered and a low turnout is expected amid widespread violence and intimidation.
An influential Sunni group of clerics has urged Iraqis not to vote in protest against U.S. attacks on Sunni cities, and the country's main Sunni party has pulled out of the running.
Guerrillas trying to topple Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government have launched a series of attacks in the runup to Jan. 30 parliamentary elections.
Zarqawi's group has claimed some of the bloodiest suicide attacks and hostage beheadings in Iraq.
The beheading comes a day after an audio tape purportedly from the Jordanian militant urged followers to prepare for a lengthy holy war against U.S.-led forces in Iraq, saying victory could take months and years.
Terrorists!
And liberals want us to treat these terrorists under the Geneva convention with kid gloves...
Thats Rueters for ya!
Do these soldiers have guns to resist these attacks?
That severed head better not have any underwear on it mister! - Ted Kennedy
Lets see snatch and kill 1 soldier at a time, while you get killed in bunches whenever you pop up... Yea, you're winning this thing.... NOT.
Terrorists... All the zealousness of liberals, but with none of the guilt.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I sure hope they do and that someone teaches them how to use them right quick.
The LAST thing the terrorista want is a legitimate functioning government in Baghdad. Once installed, the govt will attack them with unbridled fury. The US & allies won't have to help a lot, airpower mostly. The rules of Geneva out the window and the Iraqi Shia majority backing it all the way. The Sunni minority know their goose will be cooked once the elections take place and are upheld by world opinion.............
Militants? I thought they were "activists"?!
They also kidnapped and beheaded a Swede yesterday, according to the Swedish press, and there is a Brit who was kidnapped at the same time and is still missing.
There, that's more like it.
NO NO NO! They're reformers.
The proper term is Islamist Fascist.
I stand corrected.
Well actually I'm sittting but in my heart I'm standing.
Maybe it's me, but I find it difficult to comprehend how these types of acts endear the terrorists to the Iraqi people.
Actually, a more accurate description is "Satan's army". The true believers of Islam are beyond human description.
The eternal non sequitor for Islamists is why their god, so obviously himself a liar, murderer, misogynist, and all-round lover of evil is going do something so out of character as to be trustworthy to his followers?
Muslims...wake up! You have hitched your wagon to the wrong star!
Koranimals.
Pssst... Pass the gas...
nitous oxide or Zyklon B?
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.