Reply #4: The identity of the perpetrators is murky, and the matter is rather odd

[daleo]

From the article:

"Al-Jazeera reported on Nov. 2 that Hassan's captors threatened to turn her over to followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Three days later, al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq group called for Hassan's release and promised to free her if she fell into their hands, according to a message posted on a Web site known for publishing messages from Islamic militant groups.

Al-Zarqawi and his men have been blamed for numerous deadly car bombings and the slayings of foreign hostages, including three Americans and a Briton."

Taking these statements at face value, it seems as if the resistance, insurgents, call them what you will, recognized the propaganda folly of killing this woman. Zarqawi's group is even supposed to have called for her release. Yet she was killed (although a definitive identification is still to come). I suppose it could just be the results of an ill-defined and undisciplined command structure. Or, something else.