Militants claim 4th beheading

2004-07-03 21:00

Baghdad - An Iraqi militant group claimed on a Web site on Saturday that it had beheaded a captive US 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 web site claiming that it had killed Lebanese-born Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun.

"We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed, and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes," said the statement, signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.

The US military in Baghdad said it was checking into the report of Hassoun's death but had no confirmation for the moment.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the group's statement.

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 World War I.

Saturday's claim on Hassoun's death was issued on the same Islamic extremist Web forum where footage was posted last month showing the beheading of US engineer Paul Johnson, in Saudi Arabia. The site also often carries claims of attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant said to be operating in Iraq.

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. Johnson's slaying was claimed by al-Qaida-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 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.

Hassoun was last seen about a week before the videotape was broadcast, the military said.

- AP