Militants Behead Iraqi Soldier in Rebel Stronghold (Reuters)
Militants loyal to al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beheaded an Iraqi soldier in a rebel stronghold in broad daylight on Friday and left a note warning other Iraqi troops to quit, witnesses said. They said nine men pulled up in two cars to the center of Ramadi, dragged the soldier out of one of the vehicles and cut off his head as residents looked on. They left the body, dressed in army fatigues, in the street with the severed head placed on the torso. A note was found at the scene purporting to be from Zarqawi’s group, Al Qaeda Organization of Holy War in Iraq, warning Iraqi soldiers, National Guards and police that a similar fate awaited them.
Michael King points to the Kuwait News Agency version of the story:
Witnesses said here Friday that a number of gunmen beheaded a policeman and stuck a note on his corpse describing as traitors those working with or helping the police. About ten gunmen in two cars in the Ramadi area stepped out of their vehicles, attacked a soldier, tied his hands behind his back, and cut his head off before the eyes of shocked onlookers in the street, the witnesses said.
One would think such tactics would create a backlash among the population and undermine the support base of these terrorists. So far, there’s not much evidence of that.
