See this post in which I speculated that the man being beheaded in the al Qaeda snuff film was probably not a CIA operative. There is no doubt that the beheading film is real, but the victim was most likely not CIA.

Agence France Presse:

A US official denied today that a CIA agent had been beheaded in Iraq, as claimed by an Islamist website that broadcast a video purporting to show the decapitation.

"The man depicted in the video is not a CIA official," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

"No CIA official is missing," the official said, adding that the Central Intelligence Agency knows the whereabouts of everyone on its payroll....

During the four-minute video, an identity card is shown with the purported American's photograph and the mention "visitor".

But the gunmen's words are unintelligible, apart from their cry of "Allah Akbar" (God is great) when the head is cut off.

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Am I the last one to see this (hat tip Dr. Chaos) ?? (Warning: Do not drink milk while watching)

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Telegraph:

Iran has issued an extraordinary list of demands to Britain and other European countries, telling them to provide advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons and a security guarantee against nuclear attack by Israel.Can you say, backfire? How did I overlook this story? More below. more...

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IHT:

The first half of a 300-member African protection force will deploy in the Sudanese region of Darfur this weekend, an African Union official said

The pan-African force will consist of 150 Rwandan troops and 150 Nigerian soldiers who will be tasked with protecting an AU team of observers monitoring a ceasefire between Khartoum and Darfur rebels.

Do you think those Rwandan troops will get a giggle out of the irony of it all? I would....if I could just get past my feelings of deep despair and uncontrollable urge to cry.

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Jeff Quinton has the terrorism wrap-up for today.

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UPDATE: For the latest news, information, links to videos, and images on the hostage situation in Iraq, please go to the MAIN PAGE BY CLICKING HERE, then scroll down for updates.

Reuters (hat tip LGF):

A Web site used by Islamic militants carried a video on Wednesday purporting to show militants beheading a "CIA agent" in Iraq.

The four-minute long footage showed a Western-looking man sitting on a chair surrounded by armed masked men. One of the men struck the captive's neck repeatedly with a sword, severing his head amid shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).

A militant later held up the severed head for the camera.

An Arabic sign placed around the man's neck identified him as a "CIA agent." The video, which could not be immediately authenticated, showed what seemed to be the captive's picture identification card with the caption "visitor."

The Web site did not say which group issued the video, nor did the masked men identify themselves or make any political statements as previous kidnappers in Iraq had.

The men could be heard speaking in the background but the audio quality was too poor to understand.

The tired-looking captive was wearing a plain shirt and trousers.

Militants in Iraq have waged a campaign of kidnapping aimed at driving out individuals, companies and troops supporting U.S. forces and the new Iraqi interim administration.

Scores of hostages have been kidnapped by armed groups. Some have been freed but at least nine have been killed -- including an American, a South Korean and a Bulgarian

UPDATE: The website has been shut down, but the URL included ansarnet in it. Possibly linking it to Ansar al Islam. You remember them, don't you? They are the al Qaeda branch that isn't in Iraq, because as we all know, there was not al Qaeda connection.

UPDATE II: May I just also ad, that the so-called proof that the man was a CIA Agent was that he had a VISITOR ID tag on him. Can anyone imagine a real CIA Agent hanging around Northern Iraq carrying his VISITOR tag? I'm going to go out on a limb here--no, this mere speculation, nothing more--the victim here might well have been a local with some contact with the provisional government. Since Ansar al Islam has their stronghold in what is now Kurdish occupied territory, chances are this man has some connection to the Kurdish government. It should also be remembered that the CIA has been operating in Kurdistan since the end of the Gulf War. It is also likely that hundreds, if not more, Kurds have been taken out of country for CIA backed training over the last dozen years. This would go a long way in explaining why the CIA is denying reports that one of their agents is missing and the VISITOR ID on the victim.

The video is real. Someone died. The hoax may be that he was a CIA officer.

I'm no expert, but the victim appears to either be unconscience or already deceased.

Above: Alleged Proof of Victims Identity

Further pictures are very gruesome. Proceed with extreme caution to extended entry below.

Also on the trail: Jeff Quinton, Command Post, Slant Point, MH King, In the Bullpen, Rooftop Report, Amanda Doerty more...

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Read the whole story in the extended entry. I especially love the part where the Muslim Council is confused as to why taking up arms against ones own country could be considered treason. From the Guardian (via Robert Spencer):

British Muslims who take up arms against UK and US forces in Iraq could face treason charges on their return, the Home Office said today.

The warning was prompted by a Guardian report that two Britons had travelled from their homes in London to join the Mahdi army, a militia loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The men arrived in Najaf, where fierce fighting has been raging for seven days, earlier this week.

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This just in from Drudge, so hot off the presses that Drudge hasn't even corrected typos (I've updated the quote, as Drudge has changed it somewhat)

U.S. intelligence officials say a high-profile political assassination, triggered by the public release of a new message from Osama bin Laden, will lead off the next major al Qaeda terrorist attack, the WASHINGTON TIMES has learned.

The assassination plan is among new details of al Qaeda plots disclosed by U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports who, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the killing could be carried out against a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad.

The new details of al Qaeda's plans were found on a laptop computer belonging to arrested al Qaeda operative Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan of Pakistan, Bill Gertz is set to report in a page one blockbuster.

'We're talking about planning at the screwdriver level,' one official said. 'It is very detailed.'

UPDATE: Reuters

A high-profile political assassination, triggered by a new message from Osama bin Laden, will lead off the next major al Qaeda attack, The Washington Times reported in Wednesday editions, citing U.S. intelligence officials.

U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the assassination plan was among new details of al Qaeda plots and would target a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad, according to the newspaper.

Planning for the attacks to follow involves "multiple targets in multiple venues" across the United States, one official was quoted as saying.

"The goal of the next attack is twofold: to damage the U.S. economy and to undermine the U.S. election," the official told the newspaper.

The officials said there are intelligence reports, some of them sketchy, that a new tape from bin Laden would surface soon, the newspaper reported.

"The message likely will be the signal for the attack to be launched," one official said.

A second U.S. official was cited as saying that one intelligence agency was aware of unconfirmed reports of a new bin Laden tape.

"There may be such a tape, but it hasn't surfaced and we haven't seen it," the newspaper quoted the official as saying.

The Washington Times reported that the plot was among detailed al Qaeda plans found on a laptop computer belonging to captured al Qaeda suspect Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan.

Information from Khan, a computer expert, prompted the United States to issue a new security alert for financial institutions in Washington, New York and New Jersey and led to the arrest of a dozen al Qaeda suspects in Britain.

Khan's capture was part of a Pakistani crackdown, which began a month ago and has dealt al Qaeda a major blow.

UPDATE: Dead Pool. I disagree.

Also on the case: Kevin Aylward, Jeff Quinton, Blogs of War, Speed of Thought, Evil White Guy, Joe Gandalman, OTB, Discount Blogger

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Come on, are you kidding?

Britain's first-ever suit by a man claiming he lost his job because of religious discrimination centers on the Muslim man's beard, The Sun said Tuesday.

Mohsin Mohmed, 22, said he had been humiliated by his bosses at Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, and they fired him for refusing to trim his 8-inch beard.

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Thank goodness. But in all fairness, to execute these guys would have been terrible PR. Make no mistakes, the hostage taking phenomenon is all about PR. Different publics.

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As many of you know, I keep a running count of hostages that are executed by the Religion of Peas. My criteria for adding names to the list is simple: the victims must have be executed some time after being captured. FYI-14 hostages have been murdered by terro-zombies since 9/11.

A reader, from Ireland, sent me an e-mail reminding me of the names of the two Irish victims of Islamic extremism. Both murdered in cold blood. While not officially going on the list, let us not forget their names. From that e-mail:

1 - Tony Higgans - Age - 63 - Shot dead in his place of
employment by masked militants - 08/03/04

2 - Simon Cumbers - Age - 34 - Shot dead while working as a BBC
cameraman outside the house of a prominent militant - 06/06/04

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Allah to John Kerry: "Many many moons ago, in Cambodia, I f**k buffalo. I think your my son."

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Highly political move. I question the timing.

Might I also suggest to Dean Esmay this: Yes, the government of Pakistan is a close ally. No, the people of Pakistan are not our allies. And unfortunately government offices in Pakistan are filled with Pakistanis.

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For original story, images, and links to video on this Bulgarian who was beheaded please scroll past updates section.

UPDATE 10/08: Kenneth Bigley executed in Iraq by Zarqawi terrorist organization. The story is developing, but sources in Fallujah claim Bigley beheaded. For the latest information, links to video, and images on the Kenneth Bigley murder please go to the MAIN PAGE or by CLICKING HERE for the 10/08 report.

For the latest information, links to video, and images on hostages in Iraq please check the main page by CLICKING HERE.

Here is a list of all the victims of Islamic Beheadings since late July this year.

10/08 Kenneth Bigley Executed in Iraq Images and Video Here.
10/02 Iraqi Victim Barie Nafie Dawoud Ibrahim Beheading Video and Images Here
9/22 American Hostage Jack Hensley Beheading Video and Images Here
9/20 American Hostage Eugene Armstrong Beheaded on Video Here
9/13 Turkish Hostage Beheaded on Video Here
9/08 Three Muslim 'Informants' Beheaded by the Religion of Irony
8/31 12 Nepalese Hostages Killed, 1 Beheaded Here
8/26 Italian Hostage Enzo Baldoni Murdered Here
8/25 Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded in Video Here
8/13 Another Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded on Video Here
8/11 CIA Agent Executed: Another Beheading Video
8/09 Another Bulgarian Beheading Video
8/02 Turkish Hostage Murdered
7/28 Bulgarian Beheading Video
7/27 Kashmir Rebels Bomb Hospital, Behead Three
7/27 Paul Johnson Beheading Video and Images Here
-----------------
Begin original post:

AP:

CAIRO, Egypt - Four masked, black-clad men who said they belong to a group that has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings in Iraq (news - web sites) beheaded a man identified only as a Bulgarian in a video posted on the Internet Monday....The militants in the video said they were from the Tawhid and Jihad group, which had claimed to have kidnapped two Bulgarian truck drivers June 29 and demanded Iraqi detainees be released in exchange for their lives.

The beheaded body of one of the drivers, Georgi Lazov, was found in the Tigris River in Iraq in mid-July and a tape was released showing his death. An announcement late last month of the discovery of a second decapitated body in an orange jumpsuit and a head in a bag near the Tigris River had prompted fears that Ivaylo Kepov too had been killed, but there was no video of his slaying.

I previously posted about this here.

UPDATE I: The problem with blogging is you often write something before thinking too hard. This is NEW video. What I had before was not VIDEO, only still images from the video. Zarquawi's group had posted a message saying they would release the video in the future, along with some vidcaps they posted the day of the announcement. This is the video they announced.

UPDATE II: In the Bullpen has graciously offered to host the video in .zip format.

UPDATE III: Just to reiterate--this is new VIDEO, not a new beheading. The video shows either Georgi Lazov or Ivaylo Kepov who were both murdered sometime around July 13 or 14. See this post for a list of the 14 hostages murdered since 9/11.

UPDATE IV: Wizbang also has the video--but server is slow.

UPDATE V: Chris Short has also graciously offered to host the video (very fast), and has a good blog roundup. The version I sent him is the Real Video Version, and therefore does not need to be unzipped when downloaded. Scroll to bottom of post to get video.

Others on the trail: Jeff Quinton, James Joyner, In the Bullpen, Command Post, On the Third Hand, Wizbang

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Jay Tea blames the NY Times. Atrios blames......can you guess? Look for the answer below. more...

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This blog rocks:

Right now Lt Armeni is in critical condition in Germany. He was wounded on that attack on 05 AUG 04. I received a e-mail from his father thanking me for this site which allowed him a little more insight to the event that critically wounded his son on that day, and to continue praying for him. I am asking everybody to please include Lt Armeni and his family in their prayers. It would mean a lot. To me, and everybody else here. I know of at least five guys here who are alive today because of his actions on that day.

PS-unlike that Johnny Depp film with a similar name about that nutjob Hunter Thompson, this blog is not gay.

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When you equivicate between beating prisoners, which is routinely practiced in just about every country in the world--even in places which aren't 'brutal dictatorships'--then you are either insane, stupid, or a traitor (traitor here defined as giving comfort to the enemy). Kos may be all three:

The new Iraq looks just like the old one....

We replaced one brutal dictatorial regime with another brutal dictatorial regime.

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I may not have mentioned it in awhile, but why haven't we bombed al Jazeera? This is not a joke. We should completely oblitirate that organization. This is war. In war, propaganda outlets are legitimate targets.

Needless to say, I support the Interim Government's decision to close it down. But why for only a month?

Via Joe Gandalman (Dean Esmay is probably in the gulag, too) this link to a Boston.com article:

WASHINGTON -- For most of the central figures in the Arab-produced documentary film "Control Room," the grisly images that emerged from the US invasion of Iraq last year were no cause for a change of opinion

Jehane Noujaim, the producer, gives an inside look at the war through the eyes and lenses of Al Jazeera's journalists, based at US Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar. And over the length of her film, the chasm only widens between US military officials who speak about the "liberation" of Iraq and the Al Jazeera reporters skeptical of the invasion.

The exception is a Marine lieutenant named Josh Rushing.

Rushing, who was a Central Command spokesman assigned to escort the documentary makers during their time in Qatar, is among the film's most sympathetic characters. He is portrayed as a thoughtful young man moved over time by the grim reality of war.

At no point is he shown doubting the justness of the US effort in Iraq, yet the film documents a friendship between Rushing and an Al Jazeera reporter, Hassan Ibrahim. There are also moments on camera when Rushing is wrestling with the film's central themes: war, bias and the Arab world's strongest media outlet.

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Just the other day me and the regular crew were wondering why there were no trolls around here. I even told Brian B. that I was thinking of dropping some trollish comments, just to spark some debate. Then I get this (scroll down to comments):

Bu zalim insanlar gün gelecek Türk milletinin ayaklarını öpmeye kalkacaklar. Ama Türk oğlu Türk olan, asil kan Türk askeri başlarındaki puşileri Gözlerine bağlayacak ve o 3 kurşunu birer birer yavaş yavaş can cektirerek sıkacak. Bunu ya o Türk askeri yapacak yada BEN !!!!... Ne mutlu Türk'üm diyene, Ne mutlu Türkiyeliyim diyene, ............ Bir Gün..... O gün de gelcek ElbeTTttt....

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UPDATE: For the latest news, information, links to videos, and images on the hostage situation in Iraq, please go to the MAIN PAGE BY CLICKING HERE, then scroll down for updates.

Via Paul at Wizbang this report:

A video aired today that purportedly showed an American being decapitated was a hoax.

The man from San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friendÂ’s house using fake blood.

On the tape, Benjamin Vanderford, 22, sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth.

The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless manÂ’s neck but did not show any militants.

No, his name is not Benjamin Ford, it is Benjamin Vanderford. Remember that name. This guy deserves far worse than losing his seat. This is the kind of guy who you SHOULD spit on if you meet him in the street. No, this is the kind of guy that you punch in the face should you meet him in the street.

Imagine the widow of Paul Johnson watching this dickhead? The grievous sympathy. The tears. Then to find out it was an anti-war hoax?

Words cannot describe this guy.

The original post (luckily made only five minutes ago), is below.

Add one more to the list of the victims of the Religion of Peas. That makes fourteen hostages murdered in cold blood since 9/11. There names can be found at the end of this post. From ABC News:

New video aired Saturday purportedly shows a San Francisco man being depacitated moments after he urges the United States to end its occupation of Iraq.

The man on the tape identified himself as what sounds like Benjamin Vanderford, from San Francisco. He sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth.

The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless man's neck, but did not show his head actually removed from the body.

The man on the tape says he lives at 1510 Eddy Street in San Francisco. A Ben Vanderford listed at that address has a Web site in which he says he is running for supervisor of San Francisco's District 5. The picture of Vanderford on the Web site closely resembles that of the man on the video.

"We need to leave this country alone. We need to stop this occupation," he said, adding that he had been offered for exchange with prisoners in Iraq.

"We need to leave this country right now," he said. "Everyone's going to be killed this way."

Unlike in previous videos of hostage killings, no militants were seen on the footage. He was clad in a t-shirt, not the orange jumpsuit that other hostages have been dressed in.

The video was titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Slaughters an American" and had no indication of when, or where, it was made. Zarqawi is an al-Qaida linked militant whose group, Tawhid and Jihad, has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks across Iraq, including the beheadings of U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sun-il and a Bulgarian man, Georgi Lazov.

Updates will be frequent.

Also on the scentfooled: James at OTB, M.H. King, Command Post

Not fooled: Leather Penguin, Michelle at A Small Victory, Kevin McGehee, Is Full of Crap, Dean Esmay, Jeff Quinton

UPDATE: Wild Bill has the video at his site.

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