Turkish hostage beheaded in Iraq

The video of the beheading of a Turkish hostage in Iraq appeared on an Islamic website today.

The man’s identity was not immediately apparent in the video, but he showed an identity document and spoke a few words in Turkish before he was killed.

The video appeared on the website of the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, an Iraqi militant group. A statement read out said the kidnappers belonged to the Tawhid and Jihad group’s Qaqa Brigade.

In the video, the Turkish driver sat blindfolded with four masked gunmen behind him. One kidnapper said his group had sworn to oppose “the crusaders and those who help them”. The kidnapper spoke Arabic but not with an Iraqi accent.

The Turk was then pushed to the ground and decapitated.

The video began with the Turk, white haired and bearded, saying: “I am Ramadan. “I drove a truck of supplies to the Americans … I call on all Turkish drivers not to come to Iraq.”

Then two kidnappers pushed the Turk to the ground. A third slit his throat with a knife and cut off his head.