(Recasts with Qaeda claim) WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 31 (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-led group said on Thursday it had killed an Iraqi husband and wife employed by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Earlier, U.S. officials said the couple appeared to have been kidnapped. The U.S. officials, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case, said that after the husband went missing late last week his wife went to look for him and then she too appeared to have been abducted. "God's ruling has been implemented against two of the most prominent agents and spies of the worshippers of the cross ... a man and woman who occupy an important position at the U.S. embassy..." the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq said in a statement published on the Internet. "The swords of the security personnel of the Islamic State in Iraq ... are with God's grace slitting the throats of crusaders and their aides and lackeys," it said. The killings took place on Monday, it said. One official described the two as "missing and apparently kidnapped." The group said it was able to acquire a large amount of money from them. It did not give further details. U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said only that two local Baghdad embassy employees were missing. "There are two local national employees of the embassy in Baghdad who are missing. Their whereabouts, at this point, are unknown," Casey told reporters in Washington. "We do have concerns about their welfare." Kidnappings and disappearances have become common in Baghdad in the sectarian violence that erupted after the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein. (Additional reporting by Inal Ersan in Dubai)
