Extremists linked to Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi have claimed responsibility for the massacre of nearly 50 unarmed Iraqi army recruits executed northeast of Baghdad.
A statement of responsibility was posted today (Sunday) on a web site used in the past by Zarqawi's group.
Police say the recruits were ambushed Saturday evening as they were returning to southern Iraq from a training facility near Baquba. They say the victims were forced to leave their vehicles and lie face down on the ground, before being shot.
Elsewhere, a U.S. diplomatic security officer and an American soldier were killed in a mortar attack near Baghdad airport.
In Fallujah, witnesses say at least five people have been killed in U.S. airstrikes on suspected insurgent positions.
To the south, a Bulgarian soldier was killed and three others wounded when a carbomb exploded near a coalition convoy in Karbala.