It seems these kidnappers finally had the gall to brutalise a soldier instead of just civilians.
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040703.whasso0703/BNStory/International/
Baghdad — An Iraqi militant group claimed on a website Saturday that it had beheaded a captive U.S. marine, in what would be the fourth decapitation of a foreign hostage in the region since May.
The group, called the Ansar al-Sunna Army, posted a written statement on an Islamic website claiming that it had killed Lebanese-born Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, 24.
"We would like to inform you that the marine of Lebanese origin, Hassoun, has been slaughtered. You are going to see the video with your very eyes soon," said the statement, signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.
The U.S. military in Baghdad said it was checking into the report but had no immediate confirmation.
The group called itself the Ansar al-Sunna Army in Qaim, a town on the Iraqi border with Syria that has seen frequent clashes between U.S. troops and militants. The message was dated June 20, the day the military said Corporal Hassoun was first reported missing — though the posting was dated Saturday.
In West Jordan, Utah, relatives of Corporal Hassoun were in seclusion Saturday. A representative of the Khadeeja mosque in nearby West Valley City met with family members for about 15 minutes and refused to comment as he left the home, where the yard had been decorated in recent days by about two dozen flags put up by Boy Scouts.
The statement from the militants demanded a withdrawal of army troops "or else we will keep doing what we are doing."
On June 27, the Arab television station Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape showing Hassoun blindfolded, along with a statement from militants threatening to kill him unless the United States releases all Iraqis in "occupation jails."
In that initial statement, the kidnappers identified themselves as Islamic Response, the security wing of the National Islamic Resistance - 1920 Revolution Brigades, referring to the uprising against the British after the First World War.
Saturday's claim on Corporal Hassoun's death was issued on the same Islamic extremist website where footage was posted last month showing the beheading of U.S. engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., in Saudi Arabia. The site often carries claims of attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant said to be operating in Iraq.
Mr. Al-Zarqawi's movement claimed responsibility for the beheading of Kim Sun-il, a South Korean who worked for a company delivering supplies to American forces, and Nicholas Berg, an American businessman, whose body was found in Baghdad in May. Mr. Johnson's slaying was claimed by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Saudi Arabia, and pictures of his severed head were posted on the Internet.
Another militant group in Iraq claimed last week that it had killed Specialist Keith Maupin, an American soldier who had been held captive since April. The military has not yet confirmed that Maupin was shown in grainy video footage of a man being shot in the back of the head.
In Saturday's statement, the militants said they used a woman to trap Corporal Hassoun. "As your soldier had a love affair with a young Arab woman, he has been lured from the base," the statement said.
The U.S. military said Corporal Hassoun had been absent without authorization since July 20, although after the video was shown it listed his status as "captured."
