Al-Qaeda 'executes' marines
2005-10-03 17:55
Dubai - Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq said in an nternet statement on Monday that it had executed two US marines whom the terror group claimed to have kidnapped in western Iraq.
"The Lions ... have executed God Almighty's will" by executing the two marines, said a statement by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers.
The statement said the alleged executions were carried out "after the end of the ultimatum given to the Crusaders ... and in solidarity with our Muslim sisters ... in the prisons of the Crusaders".
The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed.
On Sunday, another statement from the same group claimed the abduction of two US marines in the west of the country and threatened to kill them unless US forces released Sunni Muslim female prisoners within 24 hours.
But the US military denied the al-Qaeda claims.
"Claims that two US marines were kidnapped in western Iraq October 2 are patently false.
"All marines and service members... are accounted for," it said in a statement on Monday.
- AFP