The militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has said it beheaded two Iraqi soldiers in Mosul, a statement found on an Islamist website today said.
"They were both slaughtered in Mosul in front of a large group of people," the statement by Al Qaeda Organisation of Holy War in Iraq said.
The claim, dated November 18th, could not be immediately verified.
"Just when the enemies of God thought they would crush us with their tyrannical military campaign in Fallujah . . . the al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq slaughtered two 'National Guards' on Thursday afternoon," the statement said, adding the men killed were a major and lieutenant.
US and Iraqi troops this month began a campaign against insurgents, including Zarqawi's group, in the rebel town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.
The US military says it has taken control of the city, but the offensive has fuelled violence across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland, especially in Mosul in the north. Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for hostage beheadings and some of Iraq's bloodiest suicide attacks.