CAIRO, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The al-Qaida network in Iraq declared on Thursday that it had sentenced to death two Moroccan embassyemployees who were kidnapped by the group last month, according toa statement posted on the Internet.

    "According to God's law, the al-Qaida court has sentenced thetwo infidels to death," said the statement.

    It added that the capital penalty was meant to punish the Moroccan government for supporting the new Iraqi government backedby the United States.

    The statement was posted on an Internet web site frequently used by the al-Qaida group, but its authenticity cannot beconfirmed.

    The Moroccan Foreign Ministry described the statement allegedly from al-Qaida as "brutal", saying the execution of the Moroccans would run counter to the Islamic principles and basic human rights.In another statement on Tuesday, the group declared that it hadput the two Moroccan hostages on trial.

    Copies of the hostages' passports and identification cards wereattached to the statement.

    Abderahim Boualam, a driver of the Moroccan embassy in Iraq,and assistant Abdelkrem El Mouhafidim were kidnapped on their way from the Jordanian capital Amman to Baghdad on Oct. 20.The al-Qaida network has masterminded and carried out some ofthe most grue some kidnappings and killings in Iraq.Its leader in Iraq, Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,has been the most wanted man in the war-torn country, with a 25 million US dollar bounty put by Washington on his head. Enditem