Pfc. Menchaca has been missing since Friday.
Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, is missing in Iraq, according to the U.S. Army.
Qaeda-linked group says abducted US soldiers in Iraq
Mon Jun 19, 2006 9:16am ET
DUBAI (Reuters) - A key Iraqi militant body linked to al Qaeda said on Monday it had abducted two American soldiers near Yusufiya, in the same region where the U.S. military reported two of its men went missing last week.
"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Shura Council kidnapped two American soldiers near Yusufiya," the group said in a statement posted on the Internet.
"We will provide you with more details about the incident in the next coming days."
U.S. and Iraqi forces are searching for two U.S. soldiers who went missing on Friday after an attack on a checkpoint near Yusufiya south of Baghdad that killed another soldier.
Divers searched the Euphrates River and U.S. aircraft combed the surrounding area near Yusufiya, an al Qaeda stronghold south of Baghdad.
"The American army, using different kinds of machines and armor, raided the area where the incident took place but the army of 'the world's strongest country' returned without success, humiliated," said the statement which was posted on a Web site often used by Islamist militants.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, said the event showed "the weakness of U.S. intelligence".
The posting did not provide any proof of the kidnapping. Iraqi militant groups have often posted pictures of identification cards of hostages or issued video tapes of them.
The Council, an umbrella body composed of al Qaeda in Iraq and some other Sunni Islamist militant groups, has pledged to continue a holy war against U.S.-led forces despite the killing of the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Al Qaeda in Iraq has killed a number of foreign hostages, some by beheading.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-19T131649Z_01_L19804816_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-QAEDA-USA.xml
U.S. Releases Names of Two Soldiers Missing in Iraq (Update2)
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military released the names of two soldiers missing in Iraq since a checkpoint they were manning came under attack on June 16. A third soldier was killed in the assault.
A group allied with al-Qaeda today said it kidnapped the soldiers, according to a statement on an Islamist Web site, Sky News reported.
A search is under way for Private First Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Private First Class Thomas L. Tucker, 25, the Department of Defense said in a statement e-mailed late yesterday. Specialist David J. Babineau, 25, was killed, the military said. The search began within minutes of the attack, after communications with the checkpoint ended, Major General William Caldwell said yesterday.
``We're just simply trying to find them, and we're hoping that they're alive,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday on ``Fox News Sunday.''
The missing soldiers were part of a unit checking vehicles at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River, in the vicinity of Yusifyah south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Coalition soldiers nearby reported hearing an explosion and small-arms fire at about 7:55 p.m., Caldwell said.
`A Hotbed'
The region ``has been a hotbed for activities of the insurgents to launch attacks into Baghdad,'' Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' yesterday. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who died from injuries after a June 7 air strike near Baghdad, operated in the area, Zebari said.
Iraqis in the area said they saw two soldiers being led by insurgents to a pair of cars after a gun battle, the New York Times reported, citing telephone interviews.
More than 8,000 U.S. military and Iraqi Army and police personnel are conducting an ``intensive search operation to determine the status of these soldiers,'' Caldwell said in a separate e-mailed statement. During the search, seven U.S. service members were wounded in action, three members of ``anti- Iraqi'' forces were killed and 34 detainees were taken into custody, according to the statement.
Diving teams have been searching the canals and river, Caldwell said. Sixty-three tips were received, he said.
``We are using all available assets -- coalition and Iraqi, ground, air and water -- to locate and determine the duty status of our soldiers,'' Caldwell said.
Fort Campbell
All three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), from Fort Campbell, according to the statement.
``We hope they will be found and join their units safely, but these incidents happen,'' Zebari said. ``It's a state of conflict.''
Military officials say they also are continuing to search for Sergeant Keith ``Matt'' Maupin, who was captured in April 2004. Although insurgents later released a video that purported to show Maupin being shot to death, U.S. officials say the video wasn't conclusive.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net;
Greg Ahlstrand in Hong Kong at gahlstrand@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aolc3WS1j.tc&refer=top_world_news
Pfc. Menchaca has been missing since Friday.
Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, is missing in Iraq, according to the U.S. Army.