Al-Qaida kills Algerian diplomats kidnapped in Iraq

Al-Qaida claimed in an Internet Wednesday that it has killed two Algerian diplomats kidnapped in Iraq. That was the second slayings of Arab envoys this month.

"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, which could not be independently verified.

Belaroussi and Belkadi were kidnapped at gunpoint last Thursday in Baghdad's upscale Mansour area.

The pair appeared in a video made public Tuesday blindfolded and in captivity, giving their names and home addresses. It was the first time they had been seen since being abducted.

Wednesday's statement, which appeared on an Islamic Web site, claimed the envoys had been killed because of the Algerian government's repression of Muslims in their north African country, the AP reports.