Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
December 29, 2006
Pg. 8
By Marc Santora
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 — The man believed to be behind the kidnapping, brutal torture and killing of two American soldiers in June was seized in a raid in a town just south of the capital on Tuesday, American and Iraqi officials said Thursday.
The abduction of the two Americans, who were captured when insurgents ambushed a traffic checkpoint their platoon had set up in the town of Yusufiya, set off one of the largest manhunts of the war, with 8,000 troops involved.
The soldiers’ savaged remains were eventually found not far from where the soldiers were taken.
A group called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which is linked to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, 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 slain 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.
In a country where killers seldom are brought to justice, the capture of the man believed to be responsible for the soldiers’ deaths, whose name was not released, would be a clear triumph for American forces.
Meg Tucker, Private Tucker’s mother, struggled to hold back tears when told the news about the capture. “I’m glad that they caught him if indeed they did, but it doesn’t bring my son back,” she said. “We have just gone through the holidays. It has been really tough. We miss him very much. We still get cards and letters from all over the United States, and we appreciate that very much.”
The raid was prompted by a tip the Americans received about a video that had been shown at the Yusufiya mosque, Iraqi and American military officials said. In the video, a man is seen commenting on the kidnapping. It is this man, military officials said, who was taken into custody.
He is also believed to have directed and participated in other kidnappings, killings and violent crimes, the military said in a statement.
Although the military’s statement said that the Iraqi Special Forces led the operation, an Iraqi military official indicated that the man was in American custody and that American forces directed the assault.
No casualties involving either American or Iraqi troops were reported in the raid.
American and Iraqi forces staged another major raid on Tuesday in the nearby town of Mahmudiya, arresting 30 people suspected of being insurgents. It was unclear if the two raids were connected.
Yet even as they tried to stem the violence, Americans forces continued to come under sustained attack.
Four Americans were killed in attacks on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Americans killed in December to 100, according to The Associated Press and making this one of the deadliest months for the military in the past three years.
One marine was killed battling insurgents on Wednesday in Anbar Province, the Sunni stronghold in the west of the country.
Two soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in southwestern Baghdad. In a separate bombing in the capital, another American soldier was killed.
Scores of Iraqis also continued to die in bombings, clashes and kidnappings.
At least 19 Iraqi civilians were killed Thursday in three separate bombings in Baghdad.
In one attack, on a popular market in central Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded one after the other, timed to inflict as much damage as possible, Iraqi officials said. At least nine people were killed and 35 were wounded, officials said.
Separately, a suicide bomber, who disguised himself in a large crowd of people waiting for fuel at a gas station near a large sports stadium in central Baghdad, blew himself up and killed at least 10 people and wounded 25.
The authorities found 51 bodies in Baghdad on Wednesday and 41 more on Thursday, most likely the latest victims of sectarian violence.
With the violence continuing unabated, the beleaguered Iraqi security forces also came under attack across the country.
North of Baghdad, in Baquba, a police captain was assassinated and two other officers were wounded in a drive-by shooting, officials said.
In Kirkuk, four armed men wearing Iraqi Army uniforms clashed with the police, killing at least one officer and wounding another. Southwest of Kirkuk, in Hawija, a roadside bomb seriously wounded three policemen.
The Iraqi Army also came under assault. An army checkpoint in Tikrit was attacked and two soldiers were killed and one was wounded, Iraqi military officials said.
December 29, 2006
Pg. 8
By Marc Santora
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 — The man believed to be behind the kidnapping, brutal torture and killing of two American soldiers in June was seized in a raid in a town just south of the capital on Tuesday, American and Iraqi officials said Thursday.
The abduction of the two Americans, who were captured when insurgents ambushed a traffic checkpoint their platoon had set up in the town of Yusufiya, set off one of the largest manhunts of the war, with 8,000 troops involved.
The soldiers’ savaged remains were eventually found not far from where the soldiers were taken.
A group called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which is linked to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, 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 slain 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.
In a country where killers seldom are brought to justice, the capture of the man believed to be responsible for the soldiers’ deaths, whose name was not released, would be a clear triumph for American forces.
Meg Tucker, Private Tucker’s mother, struggled to hold back tears when told the news about the capture. “I’m glad that they caught him if indeed they did, but it doesn’t bring my son back,” she said. “We have just gone through the holidays. It has been really tough. We miss him very much. We still get cards and letters from all over the United States, and we appreciate that very much.”
The raid was prompted by a tip the Americans received about a video that had been shown at the Yusufiya mosque, Iraqi and American military officials said. In the video, a man is seen commenting on the kidnapping. It is this man, military officials said, who was taken into custody.
He is also believed to have directed and participated in other kidnappings, killings and violent crimes, the military said in a statement.
Although the military’s statement said that the Iraqi Special Forces led the operation, an Iraqi military official indicated that the man was in American custody and that American forces directed the assault.
No casualties involving either American or Iraqi troops were reported in the raid.
American and Iraqi forces staged another major raid on Tuesday in the nearby town of Mahmudiya, arresting 30 people suspected of being insurgents. It was unclear if the two raids were connected.
Yet even as they tried to stem the violence, Americans forces continued to come under sustained attack.
Four Americans were killed in attacks on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Americans killed in December to 100, according to The Associated Press and making this one of the deadliest months for the military in the past three years.
One marine was killed battling insurgents on Wednesday in Anbar Province, the Sunni stronghold in the west of the country.
Two soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in southwestern Baghdad. In a separate bombing in the capital, another American soldier was killed.
Scores of Iraqis also continued to die in bombings, clashes and kidnappings.
At least 19 Iraqi civilians were killed Thursday in three separate bombings in Baghdad.
In one attack, on a popular market in central Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded one after the other, timed to inflict as much damage as possible, Iraqi officials said. At least nine people were killed and 35 were wounded, officials said.
Separately, a suicide bomber, who disguised himself in a large crowd of people waiting for fuel at a gas station near a large sports stadium in central Baghdad, blew himself up and killed at least 10 people and wounded 25.
The authorities found 51 bodies in Baghdad on Wednesday and 41 more on Thursday, most likely the latest victims of sectarian violence.
With the violence continuing unabated, the beleaguered Iraqi security forces also came under attack across the country.
North of Baghdad, in Baquba, a police captain was assassinated and two other officers were wounded in a drive-by shooting, officials said.
In Kirkuk, four armed men wearing Iraqi Army uniforms clashed with the police, killing at least one officer and wounding another. Southwest of Kirkuk, in Hawija, a roadside bomb seriously wounded three policemen.
The Iraqi Army also came under assault. An army checkpoint in Tikrit was attacked and two soldiers were killed and one was wounded, Iraqi military officials said.