CAIRO, Egypt – A video showing two Iraqi men being beheaded for allegedly spying for the United States was posted on a militant Islamic Web site Wednesday, and the Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed it had carried out the executions.
The victims, lying face down, were blindfolded with a strip of white cloth and had their hands tied behind their backs as a man standing off-camera cut through their necks one by one, decapitating both men.
They identified themselves in earlier scenes on the video. One man said he was Shaker Mahmoud Jassim, who lived in the Dora neighborhood of south Baghdad. He wore a white Arab robe and appeared to be in his mid-40s.
The second victim said he was Riyadh Najim Abdullah. He was in his 20s, wore a blue and white track suit and lived in the same part of the capital.
Jassim said he worked as a spy for the U.S. Army and was paid $400 a month to report on insurgents.
“I call on everyone who works with the Jews and the Americans to repent to God and leave this job,” Jassim said on instructions from two men who asked him questions off-camera.
He spoke clearly and appeared calm during the questioning, before he was led outdoors. He was made to lie face down and his head was cut off and placed on his back.
Abdullah said he helped the Americans with information about a group of Saudi insurgents and was paid $50,000 plus a monthly salary of $600. He said he also gave information on a group of insurgents who had infiltrated the Iraqi police.
“We have become slaves to money,” he said before he was taken outside and decapitated. As his head was placed on his back, the camera panned to a sign that read in Arabic: “Go to hell, this is a revenge for our brothers.”
Dora is a densely populated neighborhood that serves as a stronghold for several insurgent groups.
Wednesday’s video was the first in several months to show a beheading.
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