Al Qaeda says Zarqawi's successor personally beheaded two American soldiers
According to Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Muhammed-Jassim, head of operations at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, the two American soldiers found dead last night in Yusifiyah had been tortured and "killed in a barbaric way." Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker had been tortured by their captors, according to Iraqi officials.
Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, murdered by al Qaeda in Iraq Monday night
American commanders have not yet announced the two bodies were those of the Menchaca and Tucker, who were kidnaped last week after their outpost was attacked by insurgents. Spec. David J. Babineau was killed in the attack.
"Killed in a barbaric way" almost certainly means, "beheaded." Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq resumed beheading hostages after a U.S. Air Force F-16 dropped bombs on terrorist commander Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killing him. They had begun executing prisoners by gunfire after being reprimanded by no. 2 al Qaeda figure Ayman Al-Zawahiri that beheadings were counter-productive to their cause.
An al Qaeda web site today claimed that Zarqawi's successor, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, had personally killed the two men. The NYT reports that the site used "a word for slaughter that is commonly understood to mean beheading... ."
I predicted two years ago that if terrorists in Iraq started beheading American military captives,... the terrorists will learn something else: they have made the war personal. When that happens, the American experience of war shows that our troops will shed the veneer of restraint like a snake's skin. And for every American head Zarqawi severs, he will soon find three of his own men's heads.
That kind of retribution by US troops has happened before; read the post for more information.
Cross-posted at donaldsensing.com