Al Qaeda says kills Egypt envoy in Iraq-Web

DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda group in Iraq said in an
Internet statement on Thursday it killed Egypt’s top envoy to
Iraq who it had kidnapped, claiming he represented a
“tyrannical” government allied to the “Jews and Crusaders.”

“We al Qaeda in Iraq announce that the judgment of God has
been implemented against the ambassador of the infidels, the
ambassador of Egypt. Oh enemy of God, Ihab el-Sherif, this is
your punishment in this life,” said the group, led by Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi.

The group posted a video showing the hostage speaking but
did not show the actual killing.

On the video, Sherif appeared blindfolded. He identified
himself by name and said he was the head of the Egyptian
mission in Iraq and also carried the rank of ambassador at the
Egyptian foreign ministry.

“Previously…I was deputy to the Egyptian ambassador to
Israel,” Sherif said on the video in which he appeared alone
without militants.

Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq said it would
provide details of Sherif’s interrogation.

“The ambassador of the infidels gave information that
showed the infidelity of his regime and his allegiance to the
Jews and Christians,” the group said in a statement.

The Sunni Muslim group announced on Wednesday that it would
kill Sherif and also warned that other envoys would face the
same fate. It has in the past beheaded foreign captives,
including two Americans and a Briton.

Zarqawi’s group is one of the leaders of a bloody
insurgency against U.S. forces and the American-backed Iraqi
government. Most of the hostages taken by the group have been
killed.