Iraq Defense Ministry says missing GIs killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two missing U.S. soldiers in Iraq have been killed and their bodies were found, the spokesman for Iraq's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The U.S. military says it cannot confirm the report.
"The two soldiers were killed and they were found in Youssifiyah near an electricity plant," Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed told a news conference in Baghdad.
He did not say when the soldiers were killed or when their bodies were found.
The soldiers went missing on Friday after insurgents attacked their checkpoint near Youssifiyah, an al-Qaida stronghold south of Baghdad.
Claims of kidnapping
On Monday, an al-Qaida-linked group said it was holding two U.S. privates captive, one from Texas and the other from Oregon, and taunted the U.S. military for failing to find the soldiers despite a search involving more than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they have the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a U.S. airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, when asked about the claim by the Shura Council that it was holding the soldiers, said: “We have no independent confirmation of that report.”
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer, has told The Associated Press that he witnessed seven masked gunmen seize the soldiers near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad.
The Council did not make threats or demands in the abduction of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., saying only that “we shall give you more details about the incident in the next few days, God willing.”
Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack on the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.
All three were from the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
‘Triangle of Death’
Besides the troops, the U.S. military said Monday it has deployed fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned drones, boats and dive teams in the hunt for the soldiers.
Residents said the Americans slapped a 3 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in the area and were conducting house-to-house raids, arresting anyone found not to be a permanent resident. They said U.S. and Iraqi soldiers were demanding to see each family’s food ration card, which lists the number of beneficiaries, so as to single out outsiders.
Troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven U.S. servicemen wounded, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.
The area is among the most dangerous in Iraq for U.S. troops and mostly populated by minority Sunni Arabs, the backbone of Iraq’s 3-year-old insurgency. The two soldiers were missing after an attack on their traffic checkpoint that left one of their comrades dead.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Sunday that insurgents had taken the soldiers prisoner. “Hopefully they would be found and released as soon as possible,” he said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was “great concern” over the missing soldiers.
“The American military has made very clear that they are going to do everything possible ... to try and find them,” she told reporters.
{This makes me want to cry. For so many reasons. This world needs more love.}
"The two soldiers were killed and they were found in Youssifiyah near an electricity plant," Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed told a news conference in Baghdad.
He did not say when the soldiers were killed or when their bodies were found.
The soldiers went missing on Friday after insurgents attacked their checkpoint near Youssifiyah, an al-Qaida stronghold south of Baghdad.
Claims of kidnapping
On Monday, an al-Qaida-linked group said it was holding two U.S. privates captive, one from Texas and the other from Oregon, and taunted the U.S. military for failing to find the soldiers despite a search involving more than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they have the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a U.S. airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, when asked about the claim by the Shura Council that it was holding the soldiers, said: “We have no independent confirmation of that report.”
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer, has told The Associated Press that he witnessed seven masked gunmen seize the soldiers near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad.
The Council did not make threats or demands in the abduction of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., saying only that “we shall give you more details about the incident in the next few days, God willing.”
Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack on the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.
All three were from the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
‘Triangle of Death’
Besides the troops, the U.S. military said Monday it has deployed fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned drones, boats and dive teams in the hunt for the soldiers.
Residents said the Americans slapped a 3 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in the area and were conducting house-to-house raids, arresting anyone found not to be a permanent resident. They said U.S. and Iraqi soldiers were demanding to see each family’s food ration card, which lists the number of beneficiaries, so as to single out outsiders.
Troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven U.S. servicemen wounded, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.
The area is among the most dangerous in Iraq for U.S. troops and mostly populated by minority Sunni Arabs, the backbone of Iraq’s 3-year-old insurgency. The two soldiers were missing after an attack on their traffic checkpoint that left one of their comrades dead.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Sunday that insurgents had taken the soldiers prisoner. “Hopefully they would be found and released as soon as possible,” he said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was “great concern” over the missing soldiers.
“The American military has made very clear that they are going to do everything possible ... to try and find them,” she told reporters.
{This makes me want to cry. For so many reasons. This world needs more love.}