- BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- British
hostage Ken Bigley has been beheaded in Iraq, three weeks after he was
kidnapped by militants demanding the release of women held by U.S.-led
forces, a video seen by Reuters showed on Friday.
-
- Guerrilla sources in the rebel-held city of Falluja said
earlier that Bigley, who was being held by a militant group led by alleged
al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed on Thursday afternoon in
Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad.
-
- In the video, seen by a Reuters witness in the office
of a foreign news organization in Baghdad, the 62-year-old engineer was
shown making a statement as six militants stood behind him, before one
cut his head off with a knife.
-
- The tape showed Bigley wearing an orange jump suit of
the type worn by detainees in U.S. prisons including the detention center
at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
-
- Commenting on earlier reports of Bigley's death, a
British
Foreign Office spokesman told Reuters in London: "We cannot
corroborate
the reports ... We are in close touch with Mr. Bigley's family at this
difficult time."
-
- Britain's Sky TV, however, quoted British government
sources as saying Bigley had been killed.
-
- Bigley was kidnapped in Baghdad on Sept. 16 by the Tawhid
and Jihad Group, along with two American colleagues who were beheaded soon
afterwards. Militants have launched a spate of kidnappings as part of
attempts
to undermine the U.S.-led coalition ahead of January elections.
-
- The kidnappers had demanded U.S.-led forces in Iraq
release
women prisoners to spare Bigley's life. Washington says it holds only two
women in Iraq, both top weapons scientists from the days of Saddam
Hussein.
-
- The British say they are not holding any women.
-
- Both the U.S. and British governments have said they
will not negotiate with hostage-takers and the two women being held by
the Americans have not been freed.
-
- Asked about the first report of Bigley's death, from
Abu Dhabi TV, his brother Paul told Reuters in London: "I have heard
nothing at all. I have been optimistic and remain optimistic. I am praying
this news is not true."
-
- Iraqi Interior Ministry officials in Baghdad said they
had no information on the report.
-
- AGONY FOR THE FAMILY
-
- British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt
said on Sky TV that London was urgently checking the reports.
-
- "This is absolute agony for the Bigley family who
have already suffered so much and all our thoughts are with them at the
moment as they go through this harrowing business," she said.
-
- Last week, Bigley appealed, in a video tape released
by his kidnappers, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair to meet the
captor's
demands to save his life.
-
- "Tony Blair is lying, he is lying when he said he's
negotiated. He has not negotiated. My life is cheap. He doesn't care about
me," Bigley said while squatting behind metal meshing and looking
distraught.
-
- "I am begging you for my life. Have some compassion
please," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
-
- Several groups and individuals have tried to negotiate
Bigley's release. This week, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appealed to
the kidnappers to free him.
-
- Two Western hostages are still held in Iraq -- French
journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot. They were seized by
a different group, the Islamic Army in Iraq.
-
- The United States says Zarqawi is its top enemy in Iraq
and in recent months has launched several strikes on his suspected
strongholds
in Falluja.
-
- Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for many of
the bloodiest suicide attacks in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was overthrown,
and for killing several hostages.
-
- Bigley was seized from a house in Baghdad along with
Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley. Tawhid and Jihad posted videos
of the beheading of the Americans on the Internet.
-
- Some 30 foreign hostages are thought to have been killed
in Iraq since a wave of kidnappings started in April.
-
- - Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Dubai
-
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