Web Site to Show Video of Missing Troops

By ANNA JOHNSON

CAIRO, Egypt – An Islamic militant Web site said Monday it would soon release video clips showing the capture of three American soldiers who disappeared following an ambush in Iraq in mid-May. The body of one soldier was later found, but the other two remain missing.

The video shows the kidnapping as well as footage from after the attack, according to the Washington-based SITE Institute, which said it had obtained the 10-minute, 41-second clip.

The institute, which monitors militant Web sites, said the video also shows the identification cards of the two of the soldiers. A prominent Islamic Web site said in a banner headline it would soon show the video, but it was not yet posted.

The three U.S. soldiers were captured west of Baghdad on May 12 in an ambush later claimed by an insurgent umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq, that includes al-Qaida in Iraq.

The body of one of the soldiers was found on May 23 in the Euphrates River and later identified by the U.S. military as Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.

The two other soldiers – Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. – remain missing.

A family friend of Fouty said the military briefed the soldier’s father, Mick Fouty, about the video on Saturday night.

"From what I hear, it shows the soldier’s uniforms and dog tags and warns the U.S. to back off on the search," said Cathy Conger. Fouty lived with her family in the Detroit suburb of Commerce Township for 14 months before he left for Iraq.

"What it does not show one way or another is if they’re alive or not," Conger said. "I just feel really bad about it. I hope that he’s still alive. My prayers are with him."

The three are from the 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, New York.

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Associated Press writer David N. Goodman contributed to this report from Detroit.