'Iraqi' man beheaded on video

Militants beheaded a man, presumably an Iraqi, who said he worked for the US military in the northern city of Mosul for the past 10 months, according to a videotape posted on Islamic web sites today.

The killing was claimed by the Ansar al-Sunnah Army.

This Iraqi group has claimed responsibility for the beheading of a Turkish driver and Arab Shiite Muslim in two tapes that surfaced earlier this month and 12 Nepalese construction workers, whose killing was shown in a video posted on August 31.

In the latest tape, a man wearing what appeared to be a US-military issue brown t-shirt and speaking in Arabic described himself as Seif Adnan Kanaan, adding that he worked as a vehicle mechanic and drinks deliverer for US forces based at Mosul airport.

The tape showed him with his hands tied behind his back seated in front of three armed, masked militants and a black banner with white Arabic script bearing the militant group’s name.

The tape did not specify the man’s nationality, but he appeared to be Iraqi. It was also not clear when he was captured or killed.

One militant described Kanaan as a “crusader spy recruited by the American troops to follow and carry information about the mujahedeen in Mosul”.

The militant also accused the captive of cursing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

“I am telling anybody who wants to work with Americans to not work with them,” Kanaan said shortly before being killed. “I found out that the mujahedeen have very accurate information (and) strong intelligence about everything. They are stronger than I thought.”