An al-Qaeda-connected group, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, issued a video on Tuesday, stating they had avenged the Iraqi family, which has been raped and killed by six US army soldiers stationed in Iraq, by murdering, in their turn, three American soldiers last month and desecrating two of their bodies. The video was posted, as usual, on a website that deals with such extremist claims and was reported back by the SITE institute that monitors messages of this type.

According to a statement by SITE Institute, the 4:39 minute video, the terrorist organization released contained gruesome images of two mutilated bodies of the US soldiers which had been under attack on June 19th near Youssifiyah, in the southwestern part of Baghdad. SITE also released still images that belonged to the video, in which one could see two dead American soldiers, one of them having his head cut off.

SITE also declared that upon analyzing the statement that accompanied the video, the organization claimed the images were released as "revenge for our sister who was dishonored by a soldier of the same brigade". The insurgents' statement continued with the fact that when they heard news about the rape and murder of the Iraqi family, they "kept their anger to themselves and didn't spread the news. They decided to take revenge of their sister's honor. With Allah's help, they captured two soldiers of the same brigade as this dirty crusader".

On the other hand, US investigators, which have already placed six American soldiers, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, Pfc. Bryan L. Howard and Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, plus another one who had been detained earlier, former soldier Steven D. Green, under arrest for charges of rape and murder of the Iraqi family, stated that they possess no evidence that would connect the death of the three soldiers last month with the rape-slaying case. In a news press conference in Iraq, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, US military spokesman did not want to comment too much on further details on the attack, but he did say that the investigation continues.