AL-Qaida displays Iraq beheading on site

A video posted on the internet today showed purported al-Qaida militants beheading a man said to be an Iraqi security force member.

A statement shown on the tape identified the Iraqi National Guard member as Jassim Mohammed Hussein Mahdi, who appeared to be aged in his early 20s, and the black banner of al-Qaida in Iraq, which is headed by wanted Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The tape could not be immediately authenticated and was posted on a militant website that carries most al-Qaida in Iraq statements. It showed an unidentified interrogator talking to Mahdi said he had received orders from his superiors “to kill the mujahedeen anywhere and without hesitation”.

Mahdi was shown squatting on the ground in an empty room while wearing full military gear and his hands tied behind his back. He said he was a member of the Iraqi National Guard’s 4th Brigade, but did not say when or where he had been captured by militants.

Mahdi said he “regretted” working with the US-allied Iraqi government and urged “all members of the police, National Guard and army to abandon this work, which is religiously prohibited”.

“God’s verdict against this renegade, who was tempted by dollars, has been carried out,” said a statement shown on the tape. “Let everyone who sold his religion and joined this unit know that he will have the same fate.”

The video later showed Mahdi lying blindfolded on the ground before two masked men appeared. One held Mahdi’s legs while the other severed his head with a knife with shouts of “God is great” heard from the background.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed responsibility for beeading numerous Western hostages and many members of the Iraqi security forces.