Algeria Confirms Abducted Envoys Were Killed
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 27, 2005; 2:12 PM
A group in Iraq linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network announced today that it has killed two Algerian diplomats who were abducted in Baghdad last week, continuing a campaign against envoys of what it calls "devil countries" supporting the United States.
The group, called al Qaeda in Iraq and headed by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi, issued an Internet statement announcing the "execution" of Ali Belaroussi, 62, the head of the Algerian mission in Iraq, and Azzedine Belkadi, 47, a diplomatic attache. Earlier this month, the group said it killed Egyptian envoy Ihab Sherif, 51, who was kidnapped July 2. His body has not been found.
There was no immediate confirmation in Iraq of the group's latest claim. But the office of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika later said the two diplomats had been killed, without specifying the source of the information.
The killings were among nearly two dozen deaths that were announced today amid continuing insurgent violence in Iraq. Among those reported killed were five U.S. soldiers....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072700425.html