CAIRO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A group linked to the
al-Qaida terror group in Iraq announced that it had kidnapped four Russian
diplomats, the pan-Arab al-Arabiya satellite TV reported on Monday.
Citing an Internet statement, al-Arabiya reported that the
Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella grouping several Islamist militant groups
in Iraq including the al-Qaida group, claimed responsibility for kidnapping four
Russian diplomats and killing a fifth in Baghdad earlier this month.
"God has enabled our lions to detain four Russian
diplomats and kill the fifth," said the statement, which was posted on an
Islamist Web site.
The group also demanded the Russian government to
"withdraw immediately from Chechnya" where Muslim rebels are fighting Moscow's
rule and "release all our brothers and sisters detained in Russian prisons"
within 48 hours, warning Moscow to "take the consequences" if it fails to do so.
"Otherwise this (Russian) government will be
responsible forthe consequences," said the statement, without elaborating what
the consequences would be.
The statement also slammed the presence of Russian
diplomats in Baghdad, saying that the presence was to support "the
crusaders'project led by America" and to provide "international backing and
legitimacy to the exhausted Iraqi government."
On June 3, four Russian Embassy employees were
kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in west of Baghdad and a fifth died of his
wounds sustained from the militants' gunfire.
Moments ago, the same group posted a statement on the
same Website, claiming kidnapping two U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad.
"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen
Shura Council kidnapped two U.S. soldiers near Yousifiyah," said the group in
the statement.
The U.S. military said on Saturday that a U.S.
soldier was killed and two others went missing on Friday when they were attacked
by unidentified gunmen at a traffic checkpoint near the town of Yousifiyah,
about 20 km south of Baghdad.
The U.S. military also said that the coalition forces were
searching for the missing soldiers in the area.
The authenticity of both statements cannot be
verified. Enditem
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