Global Arab Network | UK confirms bodies of 2 British hostages in Iraq

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UK confirms bodies of 2 British hostages in Iraq

The recovered bodies of two British hostages kidnapped in Iraq have been identified, officials said on Sunday.
The 2 bodies handed over to British authorities in Iraq have been identified as bodyguards kidnapped (Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell) in Baghdad two years ago.

Creswell, from Glasgow in Scotland, and Swindlehurst, from northwest England, were seized from the finance ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007, along with Peter Moore, an information technology consultant, and two other bodyguards.
UK_confirms_bodies_of_2_British_hostages_in_Iraq

Forensic tests were carried out on the remains to identify the victims, David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, said on Saturday.
Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, said: "Today the families of Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell have the worst possible news after two years of very anxious waiting.
"I think the whole country will want to send the families our very sincerest condolences.
"There is no justification for hostage-taking and we call upon those people who are holding the other Iraqi and British hostages to release them immediately."

Confirming the victims' identities, Miliband said: "Hostage-taking is never justified in any cause. Today's terrible news underlines the gravity of the crimes associated with it."

Graeme Moore, father of hostage Peter Moore, said on Saturday: "It's a real blow, particularly for the other two families.
"At least it gives us hope for Peter and whoever the other two are, if they are still alive."

The group which kidnapped the five men had sent a video featuring Moore to the British embassy in Baghdad, the British foreign ministry said in March.
Britain's Channel 4 News said the video showed Moore saying the group was being treated well.

More than a year earlier, another video featuring Moore had been aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, in which he called on Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, to free nine Iraqis in return for their freedom.

The group had previously demanded that Britain withdraw its troops from Iraq.
In a video released in July, the group claimed that one of the men had committed suicide, but this has not been confirmed. (AP, UPI, AFP, Channel 4, Reuters)

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