Zarqawi Group claims Algerian abductions

From the BBC:

A group claiming to be al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it kidnapped two Algerian diplomats who were snatched in Baghdad on Thursday.

Insurgents loyal to the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Masab al-Zarqawi, posted the claim on a website.

Ali Balarousi, Algeria's top envoy to the country, and his colleague, Azzedin Belkadi, were seized in Mansour.

The authenticity of the claim could not be verified. No images of the men or proof of their identity was offered.

A group headed by Zarqawi which claimed responsibility for the kidnap and murder of an Egyptian diplomat posted copies of his ID cards on the internet when they made the claim.

Saturday's statement boasted that the Algerian men had been taken from one of the most heavily-guarded areas of the city, the western Mansour district.

"The enemies of God and the tyrant countries should know that the head of the Algerian mission was taken from the most secured of areas," it said.

"This [Algeria] is yet another country that does not obey the rule of God and is a tyrant of this age," it added...

Posted by Rebecca at July 23, 2005 4:59 PM
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