Iraq confirms two UK hostages killed

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-30 01:09

LONDON: Two more British hostages held in Iraq have been killed by their captors, meaning four of a group of five Britons seized in May 2007 are now dead, an Iraqi official confirmed on Wednesday.

"Four of the hostages are dead," Sami al-Askari, a legislator in the governing Shi'ite Muslim alliance who is close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters.

"Two of them have been handed over and there are efforts being made by the government with the abductors to release (the bodies of) the others," he said.

The bodies of two victims were handed over by the captors to the Iraqi government in June, but Askari said it was not clear when the other bodies would be returned. He said all four were killed at the same time.

The fifth hostage, computer engineer Peter Moore, is believed to still be alive, Askari and a source close to the Islamic Shi'ite Resistance in Iraq both said. All five men were seized by a Shi'ite Muslim militia group.

A senior Shi'ite source said the two bodies might be handed over, and Moore released, but it depended on a number of issues still in negotiation. The Iraqi government is considering calls to release two militia leaders, the source said.

The four dead hostages were all working as security guards for Moore, who was employed as a contractor in Iraq.

The families of the five men said in a statement they were distressed to hear the news that two more of them -- named as Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan -- had been killed.

"We are all deeply upset and troubled to hear the reports that Alec and Alan have died in the hands of their captors, as well as Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell," they said.

"This is a terrible ordeal for us all. We ask those holding our men for compassion when so many are working hard for reconciliation in Iraq and we continue to pray for the safe return of our men."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman would not confirm or deny the reports the men were dead, saying the government would "not discuss operational details of cases".

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it was likely they were dead -- saying the families had been told as much on July 20 -- and called on the hostage-takers to give clarity on their fate.

"I and the entire government are committed to doing everything that we can for the release of Peter Moore, whom we still believe to be alive," he said in a statement.

Since the Britons were seized two years ago, several videos of them in captivity have emerged. In March, Britain's Channel 4 News television said a video showed a healthy-looking Moore.

In February 2008, another video featuring Moore was aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television in which he called on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to free nine Iraqis in return for the hostages' freedom.

Britain joined the United States in invading Iraq in 2003, but has now withdrawn almost all its troops, leaving only around 150 there to help train the Iraqi navy.