Zarqawi video shows attack

Rome, 27 Dec. (AKI) - The al-Qaeda in Iraq terror group has posted on the Internet a video showing the ambush of a convoy of Iraqi soldiers at Baquba earlier this month. The five minute clip contains footage of the 3 December gun battle in which 19 Iraqi soldiers were killed. The well-planned attack began with a roadside bomb against their convoy. The video, is the latest propaganda salvo from the group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the deaths of at least 20 Iraqi policeman in scattered attacks around the country. The attacks marked an end of a lull in violence since the recent elections.

The 3 December attack prompted US troops, who arrived on the scene after several hours, to seal off the area and begin house-to-house searches.

The video which was posted on several sites which often carry al-Qaede linked material, also shows the immediate aftermath of the ambus, after the gun battle and with the troops' vehicles engulfed in flames. It also showed the insurgents surrounding four soldiers hiding in a hole in the ground. The four surrender to the terrorists who kick them and force them away from the zone.

Underlining the propaganda purpose of the video, the footage ends with the terrorised faces of the Iraqi soldiers and a caption: "Look at these faces".

In Tuesday's attack, which also took place near Baquba, the insurgents killed five policemen while they lost six of their own fighters in the battle, Iraqi police said.