Kidnapped Egyptian diplomat slain in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Al Qaeda’s Iraq wing said Thursday that it had carried out “the verdict of God” and executed Egypt’s top envoy to Iraq, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street five days earlier.

The Egyptian government confirmed the death of the diplomat, Ihab al-Sherif, saying he “lost his life at the hands of terrorism which trades in Islam.”

Al-Sherif is the highest-level hostage executed since U.S.-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. The slaying was part of an apparent campaign to deter other nations from expanding diplomatic ties with Iraq’s new government.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered his condolences to al-Sherif’s family and said the killing “will not deter Egypt from its firm position in support of Iraq and its people,” according to a statement carried on Egypt’s official news service.

A Web site used by the al Qaeda offshoot announced the killing, showing a video of a blindfolded man who appeared to be al-Sherif giving his name and address and acknowledging that he once worked as a diplomat in Israel. The Web site did not show the killing; earlier it had displayed al-Sherif’s identification cards.

“We, al Qaeda in Iraq, announce that the verdict of God against the ambassador of the infidels, the ambassador of Egypt, has been carried out. Thank God,” the Web site said. Led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the organization has been responsible for dozens of deadly suicide bombings and the beheading of hostages, including three Americans. The Web site also claimed credit for the attempted kidnapping of the top diplomats of Bahrain and Pakistan during separate ambushes Tuesday on the streets of Baghdad. Both escaped, but the Bahraini diplomat was shot and wounded. The Web site said the group was trying “to capture as many ambassadors as we can” in an apparent effort to undermine Iraq’s diplomatic relations with other nations.

Both Iraq and the United States have been urging other countries to expand their diplomatic missions. According to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, 43 nations have sent diplomats here; 21 countries are represented by ambassadors, the highest level of diplomatic relations.

After Tuesday’s ambushes, Pakistan withdrew its envoy and sent him to Jordan, but Bahrain’s king said he would promote his envoy to ambassador. Egypt had been expected to become the first Arab nation to be represented in Baghdad by an ambassador.

Also Thursday, the Associated Press reported:

•Six civilians were killed and 24 wounded in mortar attacks against police stations in Mosul, the U.S. military said.

•Police in Tikrit opened fire on 1,000 demonstrators as they protested the killing of the local council’s head official. At least four people were injured, officials said.

•Gunmen killed two Shiite Muslim clerics in Baghdad, police said.

•Five decapitated bodies were found on the road between Rawah and Ramadi in northwestern Iraq, police reported.