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Video: Soldier deaths were retaliation for rapeStatement claims link between Mahmoudiya incident, 2 killings
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Militant Islamic Web sites have posted video that purportedly shows the bodies of two U.S. soldiers kidnapped and killed last month in Yusufiya, Iraq. The video was accompanied by a statement that linked the killings with the alleged rape of a young Iraqi woman in March. CNN cannot independently authenticate the video, which does not show the soldiers being killed. (Watch analysis of video -- 2:59) "This video is issued and presented as a revenge for our sister who was dishonored by one of the soldiers of the same brigade that these two soldiers belonged to," reads the statement posted along with the video. Five soldiers and one former soldier from the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the deaths in Mahmoudiya of an Iraqi family and the alleged rape of one member of that family, who was also killed. The two soldiers who were kidnapped and killed in Yusufiya were also members of that regiment. The U.S. military has said there is no evidence linking the two incidents, however. The video begins with a printed statement -- "The Media Committee of the Shura Mujahedeen Council in Iraq presents the two bodies of the two Americans who were kidnapped near Yusufiya." That is followed by a photograph of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and a track of bin Laden's voice from a statement released earlier this year. After an Arabic-language song that encourages revenge, the video shifts to graphic images of the dead soldiers, one of whom has been beheaded. The voice of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- the al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed June 7 in a U.S. airstrike -- speaks over the video, also from an earlier statement. A photograph of al-Zarqawi appears in one corner, and the logo of his group appears in another. The two soldiers, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, were kidnapped June 16 in an attack on a checkpoint in Yusufiya, south of Baghdad. A tip from an Iraqi civilian led searchers to their bodies three days later. A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, was killed in the attack. Troops charged in Mahmoudiya caseFormer Pfc. Steven D. Green -- who was honorably discharged from the Army for having a "personality disorder" -- and four other soldiers have been charged with murder and rape in the Mahmoudiya incident. Another soldier has been charged for failing to report the incident but is not alleged to have participated. All five are charged with conspiring with Green to commit the crimes. The U.S. military released their names Monday. (Full story) Green, 21, has been charged in a U.S. civilian court. He pleaded not guilty last week in a federal court in Kentucky. The other five have been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The identification card and death certificate of the alleged rape victim indicated she was 14 at the time. A Justice Department affidavit in the case against Green says investigators estimated her age at about 25, while the U.S. military said she was 20. Bloody MondayA spate of bombings in Iraq on Monday followed a bloody weekend of sectarian violence. At least one car bomb exploded in a Shiite Muslim section of eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing five people and wounding 46, Iraqi police said. The deadly attack began when a car parked near a repair shop blew up, followed within minutes by a suicide car bomber who drove into the crowd that had gathered near the site, according to The Associated Press. (Watch how sectarian killings are terrifying Iraqis -- 3:11) Three other bombs in the capital left 30 people hurt. A roadside bomb wounded five people when it detonated near an Iraqi police patrol close to Mustansariya University -- also in the eastern part of the city. At midday, another roadside bomb exploded near a gas station in the Mahmoudiya area, wounding 10 people, police said. A short time later, a bomb blew up in a popular shopping area along central Baghdad's al-Rasheed Street, wounding 15 people, police said. The attack was near Baghdad's central bank. About 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, in Moqtadiya, gunmen fired on a convoy for Adnan Iskandar, a provincial governing council member. The attack wounded two of Iskandar's bodyguards, a spokesman for the Diyala Joint Coordination Center said. Iskandar is a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party. In Baquba, a roadside bomb detonated next to a currency exchange, wounding 16 people -- five police and 11 civilians. In northern Iraq, a truck packed with explosives detonated in southern Kirkuk near a government building and also close to the offices of a Kurdish political party, killing three people and wounding 21 others, police said. The bombs came a day after gunmen roaming a Baghdad neighborhood on Sunday killed at least 42 unarmed Iraqis as soon as they identified them as Sunnis, emergency police said. (Full story) Hussein judge responds to threatA judge on Monday threatened to drag Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants into court if they carry out their threat to boycott the proceedings. The defendants have issued a list of demands, including better security for defense lawyers and a promise of no limitations or interruptions when they present their closing arguments. Trial proceedings adjourned Monday without an appearance by Hussein, who's charged with killing and torturing Shiites in a 1982 crackdown in Dujail after an assassination attempt on the former Iraqi dictator. The lowest-ranking defendants in the trial began their closing arguments Monday. A court spokesman said Hussein and other defendants were watching proceedings on television in another room. (Full story) Defense lawyers also have demanded more time to prepare for closing arguments and no limitations -- or interruptions -- when they deliver them. Chief Investigative Judge Ra'ed Juhi said the defense attorneys should have begun preparing their closings when the trial began on October 19, 2005, and they must keep their statements relevant to the case. CNN's Arwa Damon and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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