Kidnapped US soldier beheaded

2006-06-21 21:26

Washington - At least one, and possibly both, of the soldiers who were mutilated and killed in Iraq last weekend was beheaded, said a US military official on Wednesday.

The description by the official, who was in Washington, confirmed fears that were raised by other US and Iraqi officials who have said the mens' bodies showed sign of brutal treatment.

The official asked to remain anonymous because the final report on the bodies' conditions has not been formally released.

On Tuesday, after Iraqi officials disclosed that the bodies had been found, the Shura Council posted a web statement, saying that the successor to slain Iraqi al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's had "slaughtered" the soldiers.

The language in the statement, which could not be authenticated, suggested the group was saying the men were beheaded.

Insurgent attack

The remains of the two soldiers were expected to arrive on Wednesday at Dover air force base in Delaware for DNA testing to positively identify them.

The bodies are believed to be of Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Thomas L Tucker, 25.

The two soldiers disappeared after an insurgent attack at a checkpoint near a Euphrates River canal, about 20km south of Baghdad. Another US soldier was killed in the attack.

The US military recovered the bodies on Tuesday in an area they said was rigged with explosives.

It took troops about 12 hours to get to the bodies, said a second US military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had yet to be released.

Claimed new leader killed them

An Iraqi official said the Americans were tortured and killed in a "barbaric" way.

David J Babineau, 25, was killed in the attack. The three men were assigned to the 1st battalion, 502nd infantry regiment, 2nd brigade, 101st airborne division.

The insurgent group claimed the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq executed the men personally, but it offered no evidence.

The US military did not confirm whether the soldiers died from wounds from an attack on Friday or were kidnapped and later killed.

- AP