Insurgents Disguised as Bride and Groom

BAGHDAD, Nov. 27, 2007 — -- U.S. and Iraqi soldiers patrolling military checkpoints have arrested insurgents disguised as everything from police officers to ambulance drivers, and even U.S. soldiers.

Male terrorists have even worn an "abaya," the traditional dress worn by some Muslim women.

But last week, Iraqi soldiers manning a checkpoint just north of Baghdad came upon a first: a wedding procession in which the bride, draped in a flowing white gown and veil, needed a shave.

Suspicious and laughing Iraqi soldiers forced the little procession of cars to a halt and arrested four men, including the bride, according to the Iraqi Defense Ministry.

The two-car wedding procession was spotted at a checkpoint near Taji, an ethnically mixed town about 12 miles north of Baghdad. Soldiers became wary after discovering that all of the procession participants were men, a defense ministry official told ABC News.

The convoy also did not heed orders to stop, the official added. Soldiers then forced the cars to halt and searched them.

They discovered that two of the men — one dressed as a bride in a white wedding dress and veil with his face demurely obscured by a bouquet of yellow flowers — were on a watch list of wanted terrorists, the ministry confirms to ABC News.

Grainy video footage, thought to be shot by a cell phone camera, shows the men being questioned and searched.

The bride is asked to undress so that soldiers can confirm that he is a man. As the man disrobes, soldiers can be heard jokingly asking the suspect to "show me your breasts if you are a woman."

The video footage was found on a popular militant Web site. The Iraqi Defense Ministry confirmed its authenticity to ABC News.

The suspects, Haider al-Bahadili and Abbas Latif, are being held at the Al Taji military base, along with two other men, according to a defense ministry statement.