PARIS - A coalition of armed factions led by Al-Qaeda`s Iraq branch claimed responsibility for the abduction of two US soldiers south of Baghdad, in a statement posted on the Internet Monday.
"Your brethren in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura (consultative) Council abducted the two American soldiers near Yusifiyah," the council, which groups eight insurgent groups, said in the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.
The two soldiers went missing after they came under attack at a traffic control point near the town of Yusifiyah, south of Baghdad, on Friday. Another soldier died in the attack.
The US military named the missing soldiers as Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Thomas L. Tucker.
The claim followed the death of Al-Qaeda`s Iraq frontman in a US air raid on June 7 which the militant network vowed to avenge.
06/19/2006 12:45 GMT