Two US soldiers missing in Iraq found dead

BAGHDAD: Two US soldiers missing in Iraq for three days have been found dead, their bodies showing signs of "barbaric" torture, an Iraqi general said on Tuesday, after an intensive hunt involving thousands of troops.   

"Coalition forces have recovered what we believe are the remains of the soldiers," US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said, declining to comment on how they died.   

An Internet statement claimed the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq "slit the throats" of the two men but its authenticity seemed questionable. The same group had said in a statement on Monday to be holding the men, but Caldwell dismissed that.

"God Almighty has graced the leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir ... with the implementation of the sentence," said a statement from the Mujahideen Shura Council.

Al Qaeda's former leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, died in a US air strike two weeks ago.   

Caldwell said a joint US-Iraqi force found the bodies of Privates Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, and Kristian Menchaca, 23, on Monday night dumped at an electrical plant. The recovery of the bodies was delayed by having to defuse bombs planted nearby.   

He did not make clear whether the bodies themselves or the site were booby-trapped: "There were some IEDs in that location and they did have to dismantle some stuff to get to them."   

Iraqi Defence Ministry official Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed had said earlier that the bodies showed signs of "barbaric torture". He did not elaborate.   

The US military launched a massive search for the soldiers involving aircraft and 8,000 US troops and Iraqi security forces after vowing not to leave them "out there".   

The discovery came as more bomb blasts shook Baghdad, killing nine people despite a security clampdown. The US military also said troops hunting insurgents linked to al Qaeda had killed 15 gunmen in raids north of the capital.