Arab media reacted cautiously to the beheading of an American civilian on a video issued by an associate of Osama bin Laden, with some newspapers conspicuously playing it down or even ignoring it.

Downing Street today led condemnation of the video execution of an American businessman by militants linked to al-Qaida.

An American civilian who was beheaded in a grisly video posted on an al-Qaida-linked Web site had been warned to leave Iraq but refused, US officials said today.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader allegedly claiming responsibility for the graphic beheading of a US civilian in Iraq, is adopting an increasingly public and influential role among Islamic militants, US officials and terrorism experts say.

A VIDEO posted on an Islamic militant website appears to show a group affiliated with al-Qaida beheading a US contractor in Iraq, saying the death was revenge for the prisoner-abuse scandal.

THE family of an American contractor murdered in Iraq have spoken of their grief after a video apparently showing his killing was released on the internet.

A video posted on an Islamic militant web site appears to show a group affiliated with al-Qaida beheading an American contractor in Iraq, saying the death was revenge for the prisoner-abuse scandal.