Iraqi forces nabbed the al-Qaida in Iraq terror cell leader.
Private Kristian Menchaca (left) of Houston and Private Thomas Tucker of Oregon were captured by terrorists in Iraq, hacked to death, their eyes gouged, their bodies defiled. The bodies of the two soldiers were apparently dragged behind utility vehicles before being mutilated.
“Our son, as far as we’re concerned, he has died for the freedom of everybody in the United States,” Pfc. Thomas Tucker’s father, Wes Tucker, said in an interview on the death of his son.
The New York Times has this breaking news from Iraq:
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 — The terrorist mastermind behind the kidnapping, brutal torture and killing of two American soldiers in June was apprehended in a raid in a town just south of capital on Tuesday, American and Iraqi officials said today.
The abduction of the two Americans, who were captured when insurgents ambushed a traffic checkpoint their platoon had set up in the hostile town of Yusufiya, sparked one of the largest manhunts of the war, with 8,000 troops involved.
The soldiers’ remains were eventually found not far from where they were taken, savaged in a way that an Iraqi defense official at the time called “something unnatural.”
A group called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which is linked Al Qaeda in Iraq, later released a graphic video showing the decapitation of one of the Americans. At one point, the arm of one insurgent is shown picking up the soldier’s head as another insurgent steps on the face of the other soldier.
The two murdered soldiers were identified as Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, of Madras, Ore. A third soldier, Specialist David J. Babineau, 25 of Springfield, Mass, was killed during the attack on June 16 that resulted in the abduction.
The Jawa Report included this description with the video of Menchaca and Tucker:
The video bears the logo of The Mujahadin Shura Council and al Qaeda in Iraq. Contrary to reports by al Qaeda and in the MSM, the video appears to show that the two soldiers were already dead before at least one of them was beheaded.
After a brief introdcuction with an image and the voice of Osama bin Laden, the video shows the two dead soldiers lying on a bridge. Both are already dead.
One of the men has already been beheaded, the other man is dead. An al Qaeda member holds the severed head of one of the dead soldiers.One of the two soldiers appear to have been shot, the other has multiply wounds but appears to have also been hit by an explosive.
The video also blurs out one of the dead men’s genitels, apparently al Qaeda believes showing that would be over-the-top.
Sadly, AllahPundit notes that the terrorist was commenting on a CD of the kidnapping of the American soldiers at a mosque which means the Americans were probably taken alive.
The JAWA Report has more on this news today.
Previously:
Al Qaeda Says It Is Holding Missing Soldiers
Pray For Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker & Pfc. Kristian Menchaca
No Gettysburg Address Required, But Say Something!
“Our Son Died for the Freedom of Everybody in the United States”
After Mutilation, Fingerprints Helped ID Soldier’s Remains
Russia Negotiating with Terrorists who Slaughtered US Soldiers
Moscow negotiates with GIs’ murderers –World Net Daily
What Really Happened to Privates Menchaca and Tucker
Westboro Demons Will Protest at Tucker & Menchaca’s Funerals!
Iran Admits to Links with Al Qaeda Group Who Killed US Soldiers
Al Qaeda Airs Beheadings of US Soldiers, Media Pushes Propaganda!
