  Al-Qaeda in Iraq issued an Internet statement Wednesday saying it has killed two kidnapped Algerian diplomats. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office confirmed the killings this morning.
"The head of the Algerian mission Ali Belaroussi and the diplomat Azzedine Belkadi, whose government is ruling in violation of God's will, were killed," said the written statement.
Al-Qaeda had said Tuesday it had condemned to death the Algerians who were abducted in Baghdad, and a video made public Tuesday showed the men blindfolded and in captivity. In the video, Ali Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi gave their names and home addresses. It was the first time they had been seen since being hauled away at gunpoint last week.
“The court of al-Qaeda in Iraq has decided to carry out God’s verdict against the two diplomats from the apostate Algerian government ... and ordered to kill them,” said the statement, which was signed by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the al-Qaeda spokesman.
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