Gunmen stormed the compound of a Saudi company in Baghdad today and seized an American, a Nepalese and four Iraqi guards after a gunbattle in which two people were killed.

The Japanese government confirmed today that a decapitated body found in Iraq is that of a Japanese man taken hostage by Islamic militants earlier this week.

A body found in Iraq resembling a Japanese hostage held by Islamic militants has been examined and is unlikely to be that of the civilian captive, Japan’s top government spokesman said today.

A body found in Iraq resembles a Japanese civilian taken hostage by Islamic militants and threatened with death, but the government has not yet positively identified it, a Japanese government official said today.

The Japanese government convened an emergency session today following a media report that a body believed to be Asian was discovered in Iraq. It was not known whether the body belonged to a Japanese man held hostage by militants who threatened to behead him.