Iraqi Militants Claim Killings of U.S. Workers
An Iraqi militant group claimed responsibility Friday for killing two American contractors this month, alleging that they were CIA and military agents, according to a video posted on the Internet.
The tape from the Islamic Jihad Brigades showed what appeared to be identification papers for the two men, pictures of them with U.S. military personnel and a photograph of one of them with President Bush.
The documents appeared to be of Joseph J. Wemple and Dale Stoffel, who worked for CLI Corp., an engineering and construction company. They were reportedly killed Dec. 8 in an ambush outside Baghdad. Wemple, 49, was a resident of College Park, Fla. CLI reportedly was helping to remodel an Iraqi Ministry of Defense facility.
The group alleged that the two worked at a U.S. base in Iraq and belonged to the “CIA and the Pentagon.” Insurgents have frequently attacked contractors from various countries working for U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
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