Iraq Qaeda suspect blamed for US kidnap captured

BAGHDAD, Dec 28 (Reuters) Iraqi special forces backed by US advisers have captured an al Qaeda cell leader believed to be behind the kidnap in June of two US soldiers who were found tortured and dead, the US military said today.

A US statement said the man was captured in a raid on Tuesday in Yusifiya, 15 km (9 miles) south of Baghdad. It said he had recently been seen commenting on a video CD showing the kidnapping of the soldiers that was shown at a mosque.

''The terrorist is believed responsible for kidnapping two US soldiers from a checkpoint in Yusifiya in June, 2006. The soldiers were later found tortured and murdered,'' a US statement said.

A third soldier was killed in the attack on the checkpoint in which Privates First Class Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker were seized in the south Baghdad al Qaeda stronghold.

The mutilated and booby-trapped bodies of Menchaca, 23, and Tucker, 25, were found three days after the June 16 attack.

''The terrorist is also suspected of perpetrating numerous kidnappings, murders and other violent crimes within the Yusifiya area,'' the US statement said.

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