An Iraqi militant group said it had abducted 11 members of the Iraqi National Guard and posted their pictures on its website, three days after 49 army recruits were found dead in Iraq.
The Army of Ansar al-Sunna said it had ambushed a unit of what it said was the Legion Security Force on a road from Baghdad to Hilla, south of the capital.
"We captured 11 of the apostates," it said in the statement.
The group posted separate pictures of the 11 men, some in uniform and others wearing white T-shirts with "LSF" printed on them. It also showed the men seated on the ground in front of two masked gunmen and a black banner bearing the group's name.
The authenticity of the statement and pictures could not be immediately verified.
The Army of Ansar al-Sunna has kidnapped and killed several hostages, including 12 Nepalese men and several Iraqi Kurds it said were "spies".
Al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on Sunday claimed responsibility for killing the 49 unarmed Iraqi army recruits northeast of Baghdad in one of the bloodiest attacks on the country's fledgling security forces.