U.S. officials are condemning a terrorist video reported to show the mutilated corpses of American soldiers
The terrorists say the video is of two American soldiers captured near
Yusifiyah, Iraq, June 16 and killed sometime later. The soldiers were
members of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of Multinational Division Baghdad.
"Multinational Division Baghdad condemns the release of the video in
the strongest of terms," the command said in a news release. "It
demonstrates the barbaric and brutal nature of the terrorists and their
complete disregard for human life."
The video, uploaded on a terrorist Web site yesterday, shows the
mutilated bodies of two men dressed in Army camouflage uniforms. The video
shows the terrorists hoisting the severed head of one of the soldiers and
makes the other soldier's identity clearly recognizable.
Officials called it ironic that the U.S. Congress and military are
debating the nature of Geneva Accord protections as this grisly video is
playing.
Terrorists know the value of videos like this, U.S. military officials
in Baghdad said. They noted that snipers in Iraq often have
videographers taping their murders and that people can buy DVDs of the murders in
stores in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.
These videos are little more than "snuff films," officials said. The
airing of the video on the Internet only reinforces coalition
determination "to catch the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice,"
the release said.
