Beheading Desecration Video of Dead U.S. Soldiers Released on Internet by al Qaeda

To call the video disturbing is a huge understatement and it will not be shown here out of respect for the families. It is one of the most brutal and shameful series of images ever committed to tape.

Christian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker

(IRAQ) - A 4:39 minute video showing the desecration of the bodies of two U.S. soldiers has been released on the Internet by an al Qaeda linked group.

The news of the video release follows the recent burials in the United States of U.S. Army Pfc Thomas Tucker and Pfc Kristian Menchaca, who were members of the 101st Airborne division abducted by al Qaeda in Iraq. A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack.

Thomas Tucker was a resident of Madras, Oregon, Menchaca was from Houston, Texas.

The video shows the mutilated corpses of the two American soldiers the group says they captured on June 19th, 2006. An audio clip of a past Usama bin Laden speech, and an audio track from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are heard over the scenes in which the Mujahideen display and abuse the corpses of the two Americans.

The narrator of the video states that it is presented as “revenge for our sister who was dishonored by a soldier of the same brigade.” The reference regards an accusation of the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and her family by a group of American soldiers in al-Mahmoudiya.

“We are showing it to avenge our sister who was raped by a soldier belonging to the same division as these two soldiers," said a spokesperson for the Mujahedeen Al-Shura Council, an alliance of armed Sunni militants in Iraq under al-Qaeda. "Praise God, they captured two soldiers from the same division as this vile crusader. Here are the remains ... to rejoice the hearts of the faithful," the statement said.

The bodies of Tucker and Menchaca were later recovered close to the area where they were kidnapped. The US Army now says that their corpses were found tied together with a bomb between them. Three roadside bombs were planted around the bodies, which had been decapitated.

The video that so graphically captures the brutal treatment of the soldier’s remains clearly shows the Mujahadin Shura Council’s logo. The video appears to show that the two soldiers were already dead before at least one of them was beheaded.

In the video, an al Qaeda member holds the severed head of one of the dead soldiers. The men's bodies are lying on a bridge.

According to reports, one of the two soldiers appear to have been shot, the other has multiple wounds but appears to have also been hit by an explosive. The video also blurs out one of the dead men's genitals.

Later in the video, an image of the now dead leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, is shown. Zarqawi had personally murdered several people by beheading and then released those films on the internet.

The entire video has a voice over of what sounds like Abu Musab al Zaraqawi, and a nasheed, or Islamic jihad song, can also be heard in the background.

The new head of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, made claims that he personally "slit the throats" of Tucker and Menchaca. The video seems to suggest that the al Qaeda leader is lying. But, it's possible according to some who are closely involved, that he could have happened to be at the ambush. Not likely sources say, but possible.

The group, called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, also claimed it had kidnapped four Russian diplomats and killed a fifth in Baghdad on June 3rd.

Groups like the New York Times are calling the validity of the “Mahmudiya rape-murder” defense by Al Qaeda into question. The Times also questions whether the U.S. soldiers accused of the mass-murder were actually involved at all.

Related articles on Salem-News.com

Oregon Lays a Hero to Rest - VIDEO: http://salem-news.com/articles/july062006/tucker_honored_7206.php#video

Anti-Gay Demonstrators Told to Stay Away From Oregon Soldier's Funeral Service: salem-news.com/articles/june302006/phelps_banned_63006.php

Iraqi: Soldiers Killed in 'Barbaric Way' http://salem-news.com/articles/june202006/iraq_details_62006.php

Iraq Official: U.S. Soldiers Bodies Found: http://salem-news.com/articles/june202006/soldiers_died_62006.php

Statement From the Family of PFC Thomas L. Tucker: salem-news.com/articles/june192006/soldier_family_61906.php

Group Claims Responsibility For Kidnapping Two Americans: http://salem-news.com/articles/june192006/iraq_captors_61906.php

Oregon Soldier Missing in Iraq: salem-news.com/articles/june192006/iraq_oregon_soldier_611906.php

String of Blasts Kills at Least 27 in Iraq, U.S. Soldiers Go Missing: http://salem-news.com/articles/june172006/iraq_latest_61706.php

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Special thanks to the Jawa Report