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Was 'abducted' US soldier in Iraq a toy?
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-02 09:15
A picture of an "abducted" U.S. soldier in Iraq appeared on a Web site on
Tuesday, but suspicion grew it was a hoax after a U.S. toy maker said it
appeared to show a model soldier made by the company.
"Our mujahideen ... have managed to capture the American soldier John Adam
after killing a number of his colleagues," said the Mujahideen Squadrons in the
undated statement on a Web site monitored in Dubai. It threatened to kill him.
This combination
photograph shows an image (L), which was posted on an Iraqi militant web
site on February 1, 2005, appearing to show a U.S. soldier sitting in
front of a black banner with a rifle pointed at his head; and an undated
photograph (R) provided by figurine and toy distributor Monkey Depot.com,
showing toy manufacturer Dragon Models USA's action figure 'Cody' in a
box. Dragon Models USA said on February 1, 2005 that the photograph posted
on the web site claiming to be a captured U.S. soldier resembled the toy
action figure. Reports of a possible hoax surfaced after the group claimed
that it was holding the soldier and threatened to kill him within 72 hours
if Iraqi prisoners were not released, according to the Internet statement.
[Reuters] | But Liam Cusack, marketing coordinator
for California-based Dragon Models USA, said the picture appeared to show a
special forces operative figure the company had made for collectors.
Defense officials at the Pentagon in Washington said the U.S. military had no
indication any of its soldiers were missing in Iraq.
Cusack said the striking similarity between his company's action figure,
which was marketed under the name "Cody," and the published picture, were
pointed out to him early on Tuesday by an Arizona retailer.
"I worked on the development of that figure so I had seen the look of that
head before," Cusack said. "We don't want to be the ones to say that it is (a
hoax) for sure. Because if there is a search and rescue, that needs to be done."
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| A
little-known Iraqi insurgent group called Mujahideen Squadrons said on
February 1, 2005 it was holding a U.S. soldier and threatened to kill him
within 72 hours if Iraqi prisoners were not released, according to an
Internet statement. [Reuters] | Cusack, speaking
from his office at City of Industry, California, noted the rifle being pointed
at the figure in the photograph posted on the Web site also appeared to be the
plastic M4 rifle included with the figure.
The message and photograph were posted on a site run by a group calling
itself al-Muntada al-Ansar, which has in recent months restricted access to the
site to registered users in an effort to avoid unknown groups posting messages.
The site has been the main channel of communication in recent months for Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Insurgents in Iraq, including al Qaeda's wing in Iraq, have been waging
attacks on U.S.-led forces since they invaded the country in 2003.
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