June 04, 2007
Video Of Missing U.S. Soldiers Released
The al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq said in a newly released video that two U.S. soldiers missing for more than three weeks were dead, but offered no proof of its claim.
Instead, in a 10-minute, 41-second-long video obtained by the SITE Institute and released to The Gate, the military ID cards of Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, are shown, along with credit cards and U.S. dollars. But no names can be made out on the credit cards, and images of the ID cards are manipulated to flip back and forth. In other words, the ID cards are not shown as physical objects, as they would had they been filmed lying on a table, for instance.
A DOD spokesman said he could not comment on how difficult it would be to obtain or replicate an image of an Army ID card. The Pentagon said today that the search for Jimenez and Fouty would continue, and in a statement, a spokesman for the Multi-National Force-Iraq said, "We are further analyzing the video, however, it doesn’t appear to contain any definitive evidence indicating the status of our missing soldiers."
Also in the video, masked gunman are shown planning an attack in the woods. Later, footage of what is apparently a nighttime attack is shown, though few specifics can be made out. Nowhere are the bodies of Jimenez or Fouty shown.
Militant chanting is played throughout the clip, and during the apparent attack scenes, a man can be heard quietly weeping as he prays to "Allah." President Bush is also seen near the beginning of the clip, waving a conductor's baton. Later on, the following message appears in Arabic: "Bush is responsible for the captured."
The narrator of the video claims a group called the Aisha Brigade carried out the attack on the soldiers. According to a transcript provided by SITE, he blames the U.S. military for the soldiers' deaths, saying that "they did not listen" to the group's warnings to stop searching for them.
Referring to American military commanders, the narrator says, "They do not care about the feelings of the mothers of these three soldiers, who could have been saved if the American military did not deploy its people for the continued searches."
Jimenez, Fouty and Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr. were reported missing following a May 12 ambush that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi soldier. Islamic State of Iraq claimed it had captured three U.S. soldiers following the attack, setting off a feverish air and ground search for them south of Baghdad.
On May 23, Anzack's body was found floating down the Euphrates near the ambush site. The military is still sorting out details of his death, but if Islamic State of Iraq's claims are true, he will be the first American soldier known to have died in captivity in the war.
Two other U.S. soldiers, Sgt. Matt Maupin and Spc. Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, have also gone missing in the conflict. Maupin is believed to have been captured three years ago, and al-Taayie is believed to have been kidnapped last October. Both soldiers' status and whereabouts are unknown.
Posted at 3:20 PM
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Iraq, Middle East, Military
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