An Al-Qaeda linked militant group purportedly claimed a mortar attack in the Iraqi city of Samarra which killed five US soldiers and an Iraqi national guard. A statement signed by the Tawhid wa Al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War) group, linked to top Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, claimed Thursday’s attack in a statement posted on an Islamist website. It said its “Brigade of Volunteer Martyrs” unit attacked “a stronghold of American forces and of its so-called national guard in Samarra, totally destroying the site as well as six Humvees and their occupants”. Full Story