Egypt envoy to Iraq killed, al-Qaida claims

AL-QAIDA in Iraq yesterday claimed that it has killed Egypt’s top envoy in Iraq, posting a video of the blindfolded diplomat identifying himself.

A statement purportedly from al-Qaida said it delayed claiming responsibility for the Saturday abduction of Ihab al-Sherif “to be able to capture as many ambassadors as we can”.

The claim of responsibility for the abduction was posted on Tuesday following kidnap attempts against top diplomats from Pakistan and Bahrain in a campaign to isolate Iraq’s US-backed government in the Arab and Muslim world.