Special Report: Al-Qaida group: Russian hostages killed

    MOSCOW, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it could not confirm the reported death of four Russian diplomats kidnapped earlier this month in Iraq.

    "Our sources in Baghdad are so far unable to confirm the death of Russian hostages," ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said on Russian television.

    "The Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy in Iraq are using every opportunity to verify this information," he added.

    The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization grouping several Islamist militant groups in Iraq including the al-Qaida terror network, said on Sunday it had killed the four Russian diplomats it kidnapped, the pan-Arab al-Arabiya satellite television reported.

    "We have carried out God's verdict on the four Russian diplomats...in retaliation for the torture, killing and expulsion of our brothers and sisters by the Russian government," al-Arabiyareported, citing a statement posted on a Web site frequently used by Islamist militants.

    The four diplomats were abducted in Baghdad on June 3 when their vehicle came under fire from unidentified gunmen. A fifth Russian diplomat was killed in the attack. Russia had demanded the release of the diplomats after they were abducted. Enditem