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BBC: US soldiers' bodies found in Iraq ~ Bodies Booby Trapped,...Zarqawi successor killed....
BBC ^ | Tuesday, 20 June 2006, 19:13 GMT 20:13 UK | BBC Staff

Posted on 06/20/2006 1:13:20 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

US soldiers' bodies found in Iraq

Kristian Menchaca and flags raised at Thomas Tucker's Oregon home

Kristian Menchaca and flags raised at Thomas Tucker's Oregon home

Two US soldiers missing in Iraq since Friday have been found dead south of Baghdad, the US military has said.

The bodies were found in the Yusifiya area on Monday. An Iraqi defence ministry spokesman said the bodies had shown signs of torture.

An insurgent group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which claimed it abducted the men, has now said that it killed them.

The missing men have been named as Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker, both from the 101st Airborne Division.

Another US soldier, David Babineau, was killed in the attack on the checkpoint.

Relatives' anger

US military spokesman in Iraq, Maj Gen William Caldwell, said the bodies were found late on Monday by US troops.

"We have recovered what we believe are the remains of our two missing soldiers. They will be taken back to the United States for positive verification."

He said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point".

But Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Gen Abdul Aziz Mohammed said: "We found they had been tortured in a barbaric fashion."

A US statement said that the bodies had been booby-trapped.

It said 8,000 coalition and Iraqi forces had been carrying out a massive search for the missing men, and that one US soldier died and another 12 were injured in clashes during the search.

Bomb blast in Sadr City

At least three people were killed in one bomb blast in Baghdad

Relatives of the men have already reacted with grief and anger.

Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Kristian Menchaca, said on US television: "Because the US government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life."

An internet statement posted by the Mujahideen Shura Council - a grouping of insurgents that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq - said it had abducted the men and slit their throats.

The posting, which cannot be independently confirmed, said the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq - Abu Hamza al-Muhajir - had been "favoured by God" in being allowed to carry out a Sharia law tribunal death sentence.

The former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a US air strike near Baquba on 7 June.

Market bombs

Gen Caldwell said on Tuesday US forces had killed Zarqawi's "right-hand man" in a raid in Yusifiya on Friday, near where the US troops were abducted.

The general said Iraqi Mansur Suleiman al-Mashhadani was "a key leader in al-Qaeda" and could have succeeded Zarqawi.

The US also said it had killed 15 "terrorists" in an "extremely long firefight" in Bushahin, north of Baquba.

The US military said its forces came under attack from gunmen on a roof and around nearby buildings. After the firefight, it said, various weapons and explosives were found.

However, angry local people said the dead were all innocent poultry workers.

Meanwhile, violence continued around Iraq despite Zarqawi's death and a new security clampdown involving tens of thousands of Iraqi and US troops in Baghdad:

  • At least three people are killed in a car bomb in a market in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad

  • Two more people are killed and 28 hurt in an explosion at a clothes market in central Baghdad

  • Elsewhere, at least one elderly woman was killed along with a suicide bomber who blew himself up inside a home for the elderly in the southern city of Basra.


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abuhamzaalmuhajir; almashahadani; almuhajir; alqaedainiraq; decapitation; iraq; mashhadani; menchaca; mia; msc; nursinghome; oif; oldfolkshome; prisonerabuse; resthome; shuracouncil; shurracouncil; thomastucker; zarqawi
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To: MikeA
I think I saw his Uncle Mario on CNN Headline News. I was impressed by him. He obviously believes in swift vengeance instead of giving the terrorists a chance to escape or laugh at us because we do treat them humanely.
41 posted on 06/20/2006 1:52:57 PM PDT by LoudRepublicangirl (loudrepublicangirl)
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To: massgopguy
...will the MSM respect her wishes?


42 posted on 06/20/2006 1:54:11 PM PDT by Recovering Hermit (Apparently, most who protest for peace do so at the expense of hygiene.)
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To: Brilliant
"Because the US government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life."

Yeah, how moronic. We had plans for taking Normandy and Iwo Jima, and those plans assumed our soldiers would die. And an awful lot of the did.

Sometimes, they even get killed just in the planning and practicing the plan. Like the 2000+ men that died PRACTICING the D-Day invasion.

43 posted on 06/20/2006 1:56:09 PM PDT by cschroe
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To: robowombat
More detail on the booby trapping:

June 20, 2006 - 7:36 PM,br> Two US soldiers missing in Iraq found dead

********************************************************

By Mussab Al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for three days have been found dead, their bodies showing signs of "barbaric" torture, an Iraqi general said on Tuesday, after an intensive hunt involving thousands of troops.

"Coalition forces have recovered what we believe are the remains of the soldiers," U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said, declining to comment on how they died.

An Internet statement said the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq "slit the throats" of the two men but its authenticity seemed questionable. The same group had said in a statement on Monday to be holding the men, but Caldwell dismissed that.

"God Almighty has graced the leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir ... with the implementation of the sentence," said a statement from the Mujahideen Shura Council. Al Qaeda's former leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, died in a U.S. air strike two weeks ago.

Caldwell said a joint U.S.-Iraqi force found the bodies of Privates First Class Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, and Kristian Menchaca, 23, on Monday night dumped at an electrical plant.

The recovery of the bodies was delayed by having to defuse bombs planted nearby, the U.S. military said in a statement.

"Coalition forces had to carefully manoeuver their way through numerous improvised explosive devices leading up to and around the site. Insurgents attempting to inflict additional casualties had placed IEDs around the bodies," it said.

While the U.S. military in Baghdad appeared to clearly believe the bodies were those of the missing soldiers, Washington officials said DNA tests must be carried out.

White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Air Force One travelling with President George W. Bush to Vienna for meeting with European Union leaders that the bodies were being shipped home for positive identification.

"I think it's a reminder that this is a brutal enemy that does not follow any of the rules. It attacks civilians for political gain. It provokes sectarian violence and it really follows no rules of warfare," Hadley said.

Iraqi Defence Ministry official Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed told Reuters earlier that the bodies showed signs of "barbaric torture". He did not elaborate.

The U.S. military launched a massive search for the soldiers involving aircraft and 8,000 U.S troops and Iraqi security forces after vowing not to leave them "out there".

The discovery came as more bomb blasts shook Baghdad, killing nine people despite a security clampdown. The U.S. military also said troops hunting insurgents linked to al Qaeda had killed 15 gunmen in raids north of the capital.

FLEEING VEHICLE

Caldwell said a U.S. air strike on a fleeing vehicle killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader on Friday in the same area where the two American soldiers went missing a few hours later.

U.S. forces had been on the trail of Mansur al-Mashhadani, identified as the top al Qaeda religious leader in the country, before he was killed in the Yusufiya area just south of Baghdad.

Tucker and Menchaca went missing at dusk on Friday after an ambush at a checkpoint in Yusufiya, a town in an area south of Baghdad some Iraqis call the "Triangle of Death", which is an al Qaeda stronghold. Another soldier was killed in the attack.

Their deaths dealt a blow to the U.S. military after it killed Zarqawi on June 7 near Baquba, northeast of Baghdad.

U.S. forces hunting insurgents linked to a suspected senior al Qaeda member launched simultaneous pre-dawn raids near Baquba on Tuesday, the U.S military said.

U.S. soldiers were fired on from the roof of a house in the village of Qaduri Ali al Shahin, 13 km (8 miles) north of Baquba as the operation got under way. Troops and supporting aircraft returned fire, killing 11 gunmen.

U.S. troops said they found 10 AK-47 assault rifles and explosives in the raids, but residents said the victims were innocent employees of a nearby poultry farm.

Caldwell said no civilians had been killed in what he described as an "extremely long firefight".

U.S. forces have stepped up their hunt for al Qaeda insurgents following Zarqawi's death and the government announced a security clampdown in the capital to try to thwart the car bombings that exact a deadly daily toll on civilians.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Tuesday Japan would withdraw its 550 soldiers, engaged in reconstruction and humanitarian work in Iraq.

(Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Ibon Villelabeitia, Michael Georgy, in Baghdad and Ahmed Abbas in Qaduri Ali al Shahin)

Reuters (IDS)

44 posted on 06/20/2006 1:57:48 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: American Quilter
Agreed! My uncle has no clue what I do in my every day life and how I feel about things. If he got on TV and started talking out of his @$$ in regards to me, my father would put an end to that right away!!!

The media is going to interview the family member that most bolsters their own agenda.

Meanwhile, the real story of these 2 brave American men is lost....

Sick Sad World!

45 posted on 06/20/2006 2:03:03 PM PDT by BossLady
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To: Toddsterpatriot

Doesn't Foster Farms slaughter chickens with AK-47's?

Yeah, you are right. Our soldiers, marines, airmen, delta etc. show remarkable restraint. After a long fire fight it must take incredible discipline not to shoot people when the locals claim you have been murdering innocent civilians. I am beginning to think there are no innocent civilians in many areas of the sunni triangle.


46 posted on 06/20/2006 2:06:14 PM PDT by daviscupper
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Killed 15 terror scum in a firefight and another AQ leader. Excellent news.


47 posted on 06/20/2006 2:08:35 PM PDT by pissant
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To: Toddsterpatriot
I know lots of innocent poultry workers who fire AK-47s at US troops.

Well, I'm just glad it wasn't another 'Baby Milk Factory'.

48 posted on 06/20/2006 2:16:38 PM PDT by GaltMeister (“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”)
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To: Candor7
You can't blame MacKenzie, he is simply a liberal socialist foil, having been fooled by the propaganda put out continuously by the Dems.

I do blame him. He's responsible for what he says. However ignorant he may be, he's still in control of his mind--and his mouth.

And now that I've written that, I realize you were probably being sarcastic!

49 posted on 06/20/2006 2:18:23 PM PDT by American Quilter (Equal laws protecting equal rights...the best guarantee of loyalty and love of country. -- Madison)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Elsewhere, at least one elderly woman was killed along with a suicide bomber who blew himself up inside a home for the elderly in the southern city of Basra.

This little snippet caught my eye. Now I am against blowing up any noncombatant, children and senior citizens in particular, but this strikes me as pretty good news.

First the choice of target shows that the terrorists are not taking on increasingly difficult operations. There might be a couple of old folks homes in Texas that could get a little tricky, but overall, blowing up Shady Acres Rest Home is not the acme of military prowess and skill. The terrorists' capability is fading.

Second, blowing up grandma just doesn't strike me as a heart and mind winner. This can't help but help alienate the terrorists from main street Iraq.

50 posted on 06/20/2006 2:23:52 PM PDT by magslinger (Watch out for Christians and their IPD's (Improvised Potluck Dinners)!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Zarqawi successor killed....

Zarqawi successor killed....?

Al-Zarqawi's successor gets the credit

By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD, Associated Press Writer

Tue Jun 20, 1:14 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt - The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq killed two U.S. soldiers whom the group abducted last week, an insurgent umbrella group said in a Web statement posted Tuesday. The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer.

The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.

The claim of responsibility was posted on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements.

If true, it would be the first act of violence attributed to al-Muhajer since he was named al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader in a June 12 Web message by the group. He succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 7.

Al-Zarqawi made al-Qaida in Iraq notorious for hostage beheadings and was believed to have killed two American captives himself.

U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point." An Iraqi military official said the bodies showed signs of torture and were killed in a barbaric way.

The statement in the name of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said: "We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders."

"With God Almighty's blessing, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer carried out the verdict of the Islamic court" for the soldier's slaying, the statement said.

The statement did not indicate whether any video of the killings would be released.

The U.S. military has identified al-Muhajer as an Egyptian associate of al-Zarqawi. He is also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

Attributing the slayings to al-Muhajer could be an attempt to build up the image of the new leader.

Al-Zarqawi had been praised by followers as "the slaughtering sheik" for the videos of hostage beheadings his group issued on the Web. Al-Zarqawi is believed to have appeared in two of those videos, killing Americans Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and Eugene Armstrong in September 2004.

Kidnappings of U.S. service members have been rare since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, despite the presence of about 130,000 forces.

The last U.S. soldier to be captured was Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, who was taken on April 9, 2004 after insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive and Maupin remains listed as missing.

51 posted on 06/20/2006 2:24:58 PM PDT by TexKat
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To: Toddsterpatriot
However, angry local people said the dead were all innocent poultry workers.

Why do they do this? I suspect that they fear the terrorists, but not the Americans. Making wild accusations against the Americans will not get you beheaded, NOT making them might.....

52 posted on 06/20/2006 2:29:38 PM PDT by Onelifetogive (Freerepublic - The website where "Freepers" is not in the spell checker dictionary...)
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To: TexKat

Will check back later,....thanks for posting the article.


53 posted on 06/20/2006 2:35:14 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: American Quilter

(Sorry, left off the sarc. icon!)


54 posted on 06/20/2006 2:47:41 PM PDT by Candor7 (Into Liberal flatulance goes the best hope of the West, and who wants to be a smart feller?)
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To: Onelifetogive
All I can say on these two soldiers is that prisoners are not supposewd to be summarily executed. I pray they both are in heaven now.

Do you suppose our soldiers should slit the throats of prisoners? That we do not is why these POS Islamofascists think we are weak. But it is the abiding strength of America that we do not. The mistake our humanity for weakness, and THAT shall be the defeat of Islamofascists abroad and the defeat of the Democrat-Socialist traitors here at home.

God bless these soldiers who died and may everybody pray that their souls were purified and elevated by their suffering so they can enter into Heaven with Christ's help.

Thats what Uncle should be doing, praying instead of mouthing off like a driveby MSM slut.

55 posted on 06/20/2006 2:56:28 PM PDT by Candor7 (Into Liberal flatulance goes the best hope of the West, and who wants to be a smart feller?)
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To: Onelifetogive

Iraqi, MiTT Soldiers cooperate on, off battlefield

Blackanthem Military News, YUSUFIYAH, Iraq, May 06, 2006


Success in restoring security and stability in Iraq will be measured by how well Iraqis maintain security, sustain themselves and enforce the rule of law after Coalition Forces depart.

It is the job of the Military Transition Team, or MiTT, to ensure that the Iraqi army is ready to take on that responsibility.

MiTT 4, stationed in Yusufiyah, has been preparing Iraqi soldiers to take over an incredibly active area south of Baghdad that had traditionally been a terrorist sanctuary before the Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces began offensive operations there in February.

"The job of the MiTT is to coach, mentor, train and report the activities of the Iraqi army, specifically 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division," said 1st Lt. Ryan Crosby, executive officer, MiTT 4.

Although the Iraqi army shows continuing progress, there were some difficulties facing MiTT 4 in getting the Soldiers prepared to take over the battlefield.

"In Yusufiyah, our mission differs because we have a fairly new battalion," said Crosby. "We have one of the most active sectors in the "Strike" AO. We have a very high operational tempo, and it’s such a spread-out area with a lot of small villages that we are tasked to support."

The missions that the Iraqi soldiers participate in vary, but it is the intent of the MiTT to see that they take a leading role in executing all missions.

"We try to put them in the lead as much as possible, whenever possible," Crosby said. "We do joint route clearances, joint dismounted and mounted patrols, a lot of work at the traffic control points to try to control the flow of traffic. Right now, there is a mission called Desert Scorpion going on and Iraqi soldiers air assaulted in with the American Soldiers. They are right there in the thick of things with us."

The operational relationship between U.S. and Iraqi troops is not the only sign of improvement. When an electrical fire claimed MiTT 4’s living area back in February, the Iraqi soldiers opened their compound to them, thus strengthening their already burgeoning friendship.

"After the fire on Feb. 5, the Iraqi soldiers opened their doors to us," said Crosby. "They opened up one of their bays to house all 31 soldiers that are here. They gave us room to build a tactical operations center. Our aid station became a joint aid station. Working in such close cohesion with them, we’ve really seen a lot of progress in our relationship and their abilities."

"The Iraqi soldiers are more focused on the mission now, and they are more efficient and they adapt a lot better," added Staff Sgt. Jesus Villegas, MiTT 4’s fires noncommissioned officer. "They are starting to react like we do when they make contact with the enemy."

The Iraqi soldiers aren’t the only ones who are learning from this experience. The American Soldiers have learned much about Iraqi culture.

"We get to learn their culture and little things that they may do in their culture, like certain gestures and phrases. When they see you trying to learn those things, they take it as you are trying to learn and bond with them," Villegas said. "When we try to speak their language, they know that we are trying to have two-way communication and they respect us more for that."

The success of MiTT 4 and 4th Bn., 4th Bde., 6th IAD, in making the Yusufiyah area safe depends on their continued cooperation and willingness to learn from each other.



Story by Spc. George Welcome
2nd BCT PAO, 101st Abn. Div.

http://www.blackanthem.com/TheAllies/military_2006050602.html


56 posted on 06/20/2006 3:40:57 PM PDT by TexKat
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To: Wuli
MacKenzie wanted the U.S to offer the terrorists 100 mill., plus the IMMEDIATE release of 2,500 hostages [which he believed were to be released in the near future]. I'm surprised he didn't want a trip to Disneyland in the package.

It was clear he didn't care about putting other soldiers in danger in the future if we caved this time, nor about the realities of the situation. He made NO mention of the 8,000 troops looking for the two captives. I think Cindy's found a soul mate.
57 posted on 06/20/2006 4:07:34 PM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

There should not be any surprise that the 101st Airborne troopers were tortured to death in a war against Orientals. The actions were consistent with what was understood over one hundred years ago. Rudyard Kipling wrote in 1898 in “The Young British Soldier”:

When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Just roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go, like a soldier,
Go, go, go, like a soldier,
Go, go, go, like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen.

Such are the basics of fighting “The Three Block War” to win the Global War on Terror, and to support representative governments, which can exclude the Wahhabi/Salafi heresy. In Kipling’s time many had little regard for soldiers, which in our time can be seen in the pre-judgment of the Haditha incident.


58 posted on 06/20/2006 4:21:38 PM PDT by Retain Mike
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I realize that the families are absolutely devastated. But I don't understand the remark that the government didn't have a plan in place. This is the fault of the most horrific pieces of dirt on planet earth, Islamic murdering scum. May they rest in peace, and may we see the end of this entire group in our life time.


59 posted on 06/20/2006 4:25:05 PM PDT by ladyinred (Liberals are dangerous for America.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Kristian Menchaca, said on US television: "Because the US government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life."

I have every sympathy for this bereaved uncle, but I don't know what he means: what "plan in place" would have saved this brave soldier from being kidnapped and killed by those terrorist islamofascist b*stards? Maybe the "plan" where we all huddle under our beds here at home waiting for the terrorists to kill us one by one? I don't know. It sounds like a dem talking point to me.

60 posted on 06/20/2006 4:58:01 PM PDT by hsalaw
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