A militant group considered close to Al-Qaeda, the al-Sunna, has said it has decapitated a US marine taken hostage in Iraq.
With six national guardsmen and a second marine killed and an attack on an oil pipeline, Saturday was the deadliest day since Iraq's new sovereignty.
The statement that Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun had been killed was posted on an Islamic website.
The message stated: "We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes."
It was signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.
The US military in Baghdad said they are aware of the report of Hassoun's death and are currently checking into it.
However, they would make no comment or confirmation at this stage.
On June 27, pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera broadcast a video showing Hassoun blindfolded and militants threatening to kill him unless the US released all Iraqis in "occupation jails".
Six national guard soldiers were killed and four others wounded in an attack at a checkpoint near a pipeline just outside Mahmudiyah, 19 miles south of Baghdad.
A US marine also died after an attack west of Baghdad and a British soldier sustained minor injuries in a bombing on a military convoy.
An oil pipeline in southern Iraq was ruptured, cutting petrol exports by half, although it is not clear whether it was a result of sabotage
With six national guardsmen and a second marine killed and an attack on an oil pipeline, Saturday was the deadliest day since Iraq's new sovereignty.
The statement that Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun had been killed was posted on an Islamic website.
The message stated: "We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes."
It was signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.
The US military in Baghdad said they are aware of the report of Hassoun's death and are currently checking into it.
However, they would make no comment or confirmation at this stage.
On June 27, pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera broadcast a video showing Hassoun blindfolded and militants threatening to kill him unless the US released all Iraqis in "occupation jails".
Six national guard soldiers were killed and four others wounded in an attack at a checkpoint near a pipeline just outside Mahmudiyah, 19 miles south of Baghdad.
A US marine also died after an attack west of Baghdad and a British soldier sustained minor injuries in a bombing on a military convoy.
An oil pipeline in southern Iraq was ruptured, cutting petrol exports by half, although it is not clear whether it was a result of sabotage
