The al Qaeda front group which calls itself "The Islamic State in Iraq" has murdered 20 Shia hostages. An announcement at an Islamist forum today indicated that "the rule of Allah" had fallen on the 20 hostages, a reference to the death penalty which is the Islamic punishment for apostasy.

Al Qaeda in Iraq had demanded that the Iraqi government release all women prisoners in exchange for the hostages' lives. A series of propaganda videos produced by Sunni terrorists claim that a woman named Sabrin al-Janabi was raped by Shia government forces recently. The 20 were taken hostage and then murdered in retribution for the alleged event.

Only one hostage, a policeman named Yaseen Mezher Hussain, was positively identified from a series of nine photos al Qaeda released of the hostages.

Expect a video from these barbarians. There is a distinct possibility that al Qaeda in Iraq is returning to beheading videos as a terror tactic now that they feel their grip on the Sunni populace slipping.

On a related note, my good friend Rocco diPippo has an important essay on what will happen if we prematurely leave Iraq. Many of his friends will meet the same fate, namely a gruesome murder at the hands of Salafi extremists, if we leave now.

UPDATE: Interesting....Iraqi government spokesman claiming that no police are missing. Is this an elaborate hoax on the part of al Qaeda? Are these civilians nabbed off the street and then put into uniforms? Or is the Iraqi Interior Ministry wrong? Press TV:

"The 'Islamic State of Iraq' is claiming it kidnapped a number of police. We checked the report and we found out it was untrue. It is a misleading report," said Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf....

Khalaf, however, said "it is funny that they are speaking about kidnapping... Our police reports say no policemen are missing."

Hat tip:Thalja Earlier:
Al Qaeda to Murder 20 Hostages in 2 Days

Posted by: Rusty at 01:40 PM | Comments (22) | Add Comment
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