American shown beheaded on web site video

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.

The video showed five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks, standing over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit – similar to a prisoner’s uniform – who identified himself as Nick Berg, a US contractor whose body was found near a highway overpass in Baghdad on Saturday.