Rebels Kill Egyptian Diplomat, Adding Pressure on Others in Iraq

By JOHN F. BURNS
Published: July 8, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 7 - The insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq said Thursday that it had killed Egypt's ambassador-designate in Iraq, Ihab al-Sharif, four days after gunmen seized him on a street in a diplomatic quarter in western Baghdad, where he had driven alone to buy a local newspaper.

In a posting on an Islamic Web site, the group said Mr. Sharif's killing was 'the judgment of God' and described him as representing a 'tyrannical' government in Egypt that was allied with 'Jews and Christians.' An accompanying video showed Mr. Sharif, 51, saying he had been Egypt's deputy ambassador in Israel before relations were downgraded after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation that began five years ago.

'Oh enemy of God, Ihab al-Sharif, this is your punishment in this life, and you will be condemned to hell in the hereafter,' the posting said."