Slaughter of Russian hostages posted on web video

AN AL-QAEDA-led group posted video footage on the internet yesterday showing the killing of three men it said were Russian hostages seized in Iraq this month.

The images, on a website often used by militants, showed two masked individuals beheading one man and shooting another. It also showed the beheaded body of a third.

The fate of a fourth hostage was unclear. The men were seized in Baghdad on 3 June, and kidnappers said the executions were in revenge for "torture, killing and displacement by the infidel Russian government" in Chechnya.

The Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group incorporating al-Qaeda in Iraq, which said it was holding the men, had threatened to kill them if Russia did not pull out of Chechnya. It was apparently the first time Iraqi militants had drawn any connection between themselves and Chechen rebels.

In a statement posted on the website, the group said: "This is the video for carrying out God's ruling against the Russian diplomats, which we present to heal the hearts of believers and in revenge for our brothers and sisters for the torture and killing they receive at the hands of the infidel Russian government."

Before the killings, the video, the authenticity of which could not be verified, showed four men against a dark red backdrop speaking Russian, in statements dated 13 June. It did not say when the deaths took place.

The bearded men identified themselves and described the nature of their jobs at the Russian mission in Iraq: a third secretary, a cook, a driver and a guard.

Russia's foreign ministry could not confirm the report of the deaths.