Militant Group beheads US Marine in Iraq
Pakistan Times Special Report

BAGHDAD (Iraq): A militant group considered close to Al-Qaeda has said it has decapitated a US marine taken hostage in Iraq.

The statement that Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun had been killed was posted on a website.

The message stated: "We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes."

It was signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.

US Reax

The US military in Baghdad said they are aware of the report of Hassoun's death and are currently checking into it.

However, they would make no comment or confirmation at this stage.

On June-27, a pan-Arab satellite station broadcast a video showing Hassoun blindfolded and militants threatening to kill him unless the US released all Iraqis in "occupation jails".

British Military Convoy Attacked

One person was wounded in a blast targeting a British military convoy in the main southern Iraqi city of Basra on Saturday, a spokesman said.

At nine o'clock this morning there was an IED (improvised explosive device) attack against a British convoy. One person was injured, a military spokesman told a foreign news agency.

He did not know whether the casualty was British or Iraqi. However, he said the wounds were not serious.

Five Iraqi Guards Killed

Another report says that five Iraqi national guards were killed and five others wounded in an attack on Saturday on a checkpoint south of Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq.

Marines busts Car bomb Factory

An earlier report said that the US army raided an alleged car-bomb factory and several other weapons storage areas around southern Baghdad, detaining 51 people connected to a bomb-making cell, the US military said in a statement Saturday.

First Cavalry Division Soldiers recently uncovered a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) production site as well as a large weapons cache in southern Baghdad, the military said.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment discovered four potential VBIED vehicles in various stages of completion and three safes containing more than 12 million Iraqi dinar and various documents and ledgers, the military said.

Safe House

At another safe house, the soldiers found partially assembled improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eight RPG rounds, approximately 50 pounds of C-4 explosives, TNT, five blasting caps, one detonator and other various munitions. The soldiers detained 30 individuals found at the site. All were brought in for questioning.

Eighteen more people were detained in raids on eight other locations.

The detainees are allegedly part of a cell responsible for placing IEDs that have killed two soldiers in the area. The soldiers believe they have captured the financier, the explosive device manufacturer, the spotter, and the triggerman.

Two more US Marines Killed

Insurgents killed two US Marines and fired rockets at a major hotel housing Westerners, but three foreign hostages were released, a foreign news agency reported on Saturday.

Near Fallujah, one US Marine was killed in action and a second died from wounds received the previous day, the US military said.

The deaths raised to at least 636 the number of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq since last year's US-led invasion.

In Baghdad, several rockets were fired at a hotel housing foreign journalists and businessmen, scoring a direct hit on the Sheraton Hotel and wounding up to four Iraqis, a US soldier and witnesses said.

A minivan containing nine improvised rocket launchers exploded midway through the attack, destroying the van, US soldiers said.

Emergency amid Persistent Unrest

Iraq's caretaker government said it was poised to announce emergency powers very shortly to tackle the 14-month-old insurgency that has unleashed deadly suicide attacks and car bombings on Iraq, a foreign news agency reported on Saturday.

The national safety law will be announced very shortly, Barham Saleh, deputy prime minister for national security, said in an interview with Iraqi television.

This law will give the government the capability of imposing emergency laws in specific areas and for set periods to deal with terrorist threat, he said.

The law was examined two or three days ago by the council of ministers, discussed with the presidential office and will be announced very soon, he added.●