Iraqi militants claim to have killed Russian envoys

Four Russian embassy workers taken hostage by an al-Qaida in Iraq-linked militant group have been killed after Moscow failed to meet the organisation’s demand to pull troops out of Chechnya, according to an internet claim.

The al-Qaida in Iraq led Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organisation of several militant organisations in the country, said the Russians were killed because Moscow “put no value on the lives of its citizens”.

One Russian was killed during the June 3 attack in which the four others were taken hostage. On Monday, the council had issued a statement giving Moscow 48 hours to pull its troops out of Chechnya, the restive southern Russian region with a mainly Muslim population where militants have been fighting for independence since the early 1990s.

“God’s law was implemented against the Russian diplomats,” said the headline on the internet statement.