Missing American Troops Tortured, Killed

Daily News Article   —   Posted on June 20, 2006

(CNSNews.com) – The bodies of two missing U.S. servicemen turned up Tuesday on a street in Iraq. The U.S. military confirmed the report around 8:30 a.m. EST Tuesday. Earlier, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said the bodies — found on a street near the checkpoint where they disappeared — bore the marks of torture. Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were abducted Friday when their vehicle came under attack, after separating from a convoy. A third American, Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. On Monday, al Qaeda in Iraq claimed it had taken the two Americans prisoner. A U.S. military spokesman on Tuesday said in the course of searching for Menchaca and Tucker, one coalition force member was killed and 12 others wounded. But he said the search also resulted in the deaths of several foreign fighters and the detention of 78 suspected insurgents. “The key is that we did receive 66 intelligence tips,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said at a press briefing Tuesday. Caldwell said 18 of those tips were rated as “actionable.” He also said coalition forces took out another senior member of the al Qaeda network in the same area where the two American soldiers disappeared.

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Reprinted here with permission from Cybercast News Service. Visit the website at CNSNews.com.