Qaeda in Iraq says kills U.S. pilot - Web statement (Reuters)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

DUBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - The al Qaeda group in Iraq said on Sunday it killed a U.S. pilot it had captured and posted pictures of what it said were his identity papers on the Internet.

There were no pictures to prove that the grey-haired man, whose name on the documents was Neenus Khoshaba, had been killed. A spokesman for U.S. forces said there was no report that any plane had been downed in the past 24 hours and no pilot had been reported as missing.

The statement was posted on a site often used by insurgents in Iraq but its authenticity could not be verified.

"Your mujahideen (holy warrior) brothers in al Qaeda seized an American airman and it became clear that he took part in bombing mosques, the Sheraton hotel in Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq and the homes of many civilians," it said

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22150123.htm

[bluestateguy]

1. Watch the corporate media make this story disappear...

Just watch:

"US military denies, blah blah..."

"No evidence, blah, blah..."

"Not able to verify the pictures, blah, blah..."

"Independent experts say, blah, blah..."

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. And three weeks later? n/t

[Barrett808]

Zarqawi group claims to have executed US-Iraqi businessman

The group of Al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed to have executed an Iraqi-American businessman who was kidnapped four days earlier in Baghdad.

"Your brothers in Al-Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers got their hands on a US pilot who turned out to have bombarded several mosques and the Sheraton hotel in Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq, as well as several civilian homes," the group said in a statement.

The statement was posted on the Internet and accompanied by pictures of an Illinois driving licence identifying the purported victim as Neenus Y. Khoshaba, a US national born November 27, 1948.

The statement said that "after questioning this infidel, the divine verdict was applied to him".

Although the statement identified the hostage as a pilot, the US military denied that any of its servicemen had gone missing.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050522/wl_mideast_afp/iraquszarqawihostage_050522213012

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. Earlier release:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1492047&mesg_id=1492047

[FlemingsGhost]

4. The propaganda will be blasted from both barrels, soon.

All is not well for the Emperor of Jesusland.

[Karmakaze]

5. Have the Pentagon been caught in a lie???

"A spokesman for U.S. forces said there was no report that any plane had been downed in the past 24 hours and no pilot had been reported as missing."

OK so what ever happened to the second pilot from the two F-18's that "collided" in Iraq?

"WASHINGTON - One of two pilots whose Marine Corps fighter jets were reported missing in Iraq has been found, and investigators have concluded that their planes likely collided in the air, a senior defense official said Tuesday."

The interesting part is this:

"An ejection seat from one of the jets was found at the site of the emergency beacon, but the official said he was not certain where the body was found."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7713274/

Is it possible that one of the F-18 pilots ejected and was captured?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. welcome to DU, Karmakaze... They are going to keep the death toll

down any way they can.

[Karmakaze]

8. Not just the death toll...

If this is in fact the pilot from that incident with the two F-18's there may be more to it that just the death toll. The death of the pilot my be less troubling to the Pentagon than the admission that the pilot was captured in the first place.

If the pilot was indeed captured, this would not only show that the US is unable to control Iraq (how else would a pilot be captured even with a working distress beacon) but it could also indicate that enemy action might have had something to do with the downing of the two F-18's in the first place.

Such an event would indeed be troubling to the US because it would indicate a level of sophistication among the Iraq resistance that could only lead to people questioning whether the US can win this war.

If the US were to lose control of the skies due to the availability of the kind of weapons needed to bring down two F-18's then the troops on the ground would be in a vary precarious position, relying as they do on overwhelming air power to tip the scales in their favor.

Edit: Oh and thanks for the warm welcome :-)

[ovidsen]

7. What were the names of those pilots?

I'm not surprised that the name of the "missing" pilot hasn't been released, but what about the name of the pilot whose body was recovered? I know I haven't seen it.

This "unverified" claim may have legs.