Beheading of hostages appears on website

The beheading of two hostages in Iraq – one a Kurdish translator and the other a Turkish contractor – was shown an Islamist website today.

A statement said the two were captured in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad by the Ansar al-Sunnah Army.

Gulf TV station Al Jazeera said the group killed the two men after they “confessed” to having co-operated with American forces.

The station said it would not air the entire beheading video, which it said it had obtained from a website, because it was too gruesome.

The Ansar al-Sunnah army has kidnapped and killed several hostages in the past, including 12 Nepali men, three Iraqi Kurds and an Iraqi contractor.

Earlier, another Arab TV station broadcast video showing three hooded gunmen threatening to behead a Turkish hostage within three days unless the Americans release all Iraqi prisoners and all Turks leave Iraq.

The tape broadcast by Al-Arabiya television showed three gunmen standing behind a hostage said to be a Turkish truck driver. One of the gunmen identified the kidnappers as members of Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for beheading several foreign hostages in Iraq, including Briton Ken Bigley last Thursday.

However, the tape did not feature the group’s banner which has always appeared in Tawhid and Jihad video statements.

“We of the group of Tawhid and Jihad announce ... that we will cut off the head of this hostage if our demands are not met,” the speaker said as the hostage’s eyes darted from one side to another. “We have long warned them not to enter the land of Islam and land of Jihad, the land of Iraq.”

The video showed the hostage’s passport but the name could not be determined.