Hostage beheaded after Seoul refuses demands

An Iraqi militant group believed linked to al-Qaida beheaded a South Korean hostage after the Seoul government refused to bow to the terrorists’ demands to cancel plans to send its troops to Iraq.

“The South Korean government reconfirms its position that it will send troops to Iraq to help reconstruction, and as a humanitarian assistant,” said Shin Bong-kil, the main spokesman of the South Korean Foreign Ministry.