Thomas Lowell Tucker - Responsibility

Responsibility

The website of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the capture and killing of the soldiers. It claimed that Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, had ordered and possibly participated in the killing of Tucker and Menchaca.

At one point, it was thought that the attack and killing of Babineau, Menchaca, and Tucker was in revenge for the Mahmudiyah killings. U.S. and Iraqi officials dispute this claim, stating that the rape and killings in Mahmudiyah were still publicly thought to be the result of an insurgent attack. The only individuals who knew the truth were the perpetrators and those conspiring to cover up the incident. It was not until 20 June that the incident was reported to investigators and only became widely known after the investigation was made public.