Posted on 06/04/2007 5:26:55 PM PDT by Baladas
TWO American soldiers taken hostage by al-Qaeda-linked militants last month have been killed, according to a video released by the group yesterday.
The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, did not offer any proof that the men were dead, but showed their identity cards and a grainy video of what it said was the ambush in which they were captured on 12 May south of Baghdad.
Several thousand US troops were sent to search for three comrades who were taken alive: Specialist Alex Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Private Byron Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan and Private Joseph Anzack, 20, of Torrance, California.
Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush and Private Anzack's body was found in the River Euphrates on 23 May.
The US military condemned the video, saying the search would continue and hoped the troops "will be found alive and in good health".
June has brought similar casualty rates to May - the third worst month for US troop deaths since the invasion in March 2003 - with 17 US soldiers killed in the first three days, 14 of them reported on Sunday.
Reinforcements were sent to Baghdad to bring order to the Iraqi capital, but almost four months into the security crackdown, the US military said yesterday its soldiers controlled only about a third of the city.
Meanwhile, Islamic State of Iraq gloated over the failure of the search for the hostages. "The Americans sent 4,000 soldiers looking for them and ... fearing that this will have bad repercussions, the State of Islam announced their killing making it a bitter result for the enemies of God because they were alive and then dead," said an unidentified voice on the video, which was made available by the Washington-based SITE Institute.
Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner, the chief military spokesman in Baghdad, said: "We are further analysing the video, however it doesn't appear to contain any definitive evidence indicating the status of our missing soldiers," he said.
"We continue to search and hope that our two missing soldiers will be found alive and in good health."
Gordon Dibler, Private Fouty's stepfather, said he was holding out hope for the soldiers' safe return."We're praying, and so far, we don't know for certain that they aren't alive," he said.
The ten-minute, 41-second video shows black-and-white, night-time footage of what the group said was the ambush.
The video also shows identification cards belonging to Specialist Jimenez and Private Fouty, with the headline: "Bush is the reason of the loss of your POWs" written on the screen above the cards.
Along with the identification cards, the footage also showed credit cards, American and Iraqi money and other personal items that the militants called the "booty".
The video also showed footage, apparently taken before the ambush, of three masked men with a stand displaying a sketch that maps out the attack plan.
One of the three men talked to the camera and pointed to the sketch. Another stood by him carrying a gun.
"I have urged you to bring me American prisoners. We will review now a previously prepared study in our zone to bring the enemy to a good area, and with God's help we will be able to storm their place and capture them at night," said the man.
The attempt to bring order to Baghdad and the surrounding area appears to be progressing only slowly. More than 18,000 extra US troops have been deployed around Baghdad as part of the campaign, which began in mid-February.
The last of five brigades to be deployed in the crackdown will be in place soon, said Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a military spokesman, adding that it would not be possible to judge the crackdown's success until all units were in place.
"Obviously we're constantly doing an assessment of the plan, but that plan doesn't kick in until everyone's here. We control about a third of the neighbourhoods," he said. "It's going to get harder before it gets easier. We know it's going to be a tough fight over the summer."
Meanwhile John Edwards and company keep bleating about “Abu Ghraib” this and “Guantanamo” that. Grrrr...
Time to start killing Al Qaeda captives...
Personally, I think all three were taken badly wounded and either died of their wounds or were tortured and executed about the time the first soldier’s body was found.
Surely this isn’t true because John McCain said if we don’t use torture, AQ won’t./s
Prayers for these soldiers and their families.
And no word yet from our Senate demanding compliance to the articles of the Geneva convention..........
I think they were dead or near death when they were taken. It is just a mind game that these guys are playing with us.
Don’t forget the pigskin lined coffins !
Same here. If they had been taken alive, the Jihadis would have paraded them on a propaganda video.
In the meantime, Paris Hilton has gone to jail. Natalie Holloway is still missing although her mother has found new love with the dad of murdered Jon Benet Ramsey.Why we need to know all this I do not know.
Prayers for the families of these men, their families and all who serve!
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.