The Army of Ansar al Sunnah has released a video showing the gruesome beheading murders of three Iraqi Ministry of the Interior soldiers. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video. Links to graphic images from the video are posted below.

Contrary to popular media reports, this video has been available since June 7th, a day before news was released that the al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed.

For instance, the AP claims the video was posted today and uses the video as evidence that the insurgency will not be stopped because of Zarqawi's death. However, I have personally known about the video for several days now, but due to time constraints, have not been able to post it.

Here is a portion of the AP report which is clearly misleading and based on a false set of facts. AP:

Insurgents signaled the fight is still on after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death, posting an Internet video Saturday showing the beheading of three alleged Shiite death squad members in revenge for killing Sunnis.

The video as grisly as any the al-Qaida in Iraq leader issued was clearly designed to quash hopes that the Sunni-dominated insurgency might change tactics by ending attacks on Shiite civilians and institutions, especially the police.

With its gruesome killings and militants chanting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Great," the 15-minute video illustrates the depth of Shiite-Sunni rivalries.

It shows three men in military uniform, sitting on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs in a small concrete room with gunmen standing around them.

Under questioning, the men say they are members of the "Wolf Brigade," a special Iraqi police commando unit that Sunnis accuse of being a front for Shiite militiamen who kill Sunni Arabs.

Text in the video says the three were part of a "Shiite death squad" that kidnapped and killed Sunnis at checkpoints south of Baghdad in March and April. It says they were among 10 police commandos captured by Ansar al-Sunnah last month.

A militant off-camera asks them about the incident and other alleged slayings of Sunnis. The men reply in low voices, looking terrified. One mostly stares with his mouth hanging open.

"They (the Sunnis) were beheaded by those who took and detained them," one of the three says. Next the video shows the three captives lying on the ground outdoors. A militant sharpens a knife before he, with the help of others, beheads the men one by one.

At the end of the tape, the group warns Iraqis against joining the security forces: "Otherwise, you will live in terror until we eliminate you and your fate will be in Hell."

The Army of Ansar al Sunnah is a Salaafist organization with the goal of establlishing a Taliban-like government in Iraq. It branched off of the more well known, but now mostly defunct, Army of Ansar al Islam at the beginning of the U.S. invasion. Ansar al Islam was a Kurdish Salaafist group which fought against the secular Kurds running Northern Iraq. The Kurds have succeeded in nearly eradicating the group.

Due to time constraints, we will not post images from the video. Ogrish has both images and the video here [WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC].

Posted by: Rusty at 05:14 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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