Cairo — A video posted Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site showed the beheading of an American civilian in Iraq, and said the execution was carried out by an al-Qaeda affiliated group to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.
The video showed five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks, standing over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit — similar to a prisoner's uniform — who identified himself as Nick Berg, a U.S. contractor whose body was found on a highway overpass in Baghdad on Saturday.
“My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael, my mother's name is Susan,” the man said on the video. “I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah. I live in ... Philadelphia.”
After reading a statement, the men were seen pulling the man to his side and putting a large knife to his neck. A scream sounded as the men cut his head off, shouting “Allahu Akbar! (God is great)” They then held the head out before the camera.
This video image of Nick Berg was posted Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site affiliated with al-Qaeda. (Associated Press)
Mr. Berg's family said Tuesday that they knew their son had been decapitated but did not know the details of the killing. When told of the video by an Associated Press reporter, Mr. Berg's father, Michael, and his two siblings hugged and cried.
“I knew he was decapitated before. That manner is preferable to a long and torturous death. But I didn't want it to become public,” Michael Berg said.
On the Web site, one of the killers read a statement:
“For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the U.S. administration to exchange this hostage with some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused.”
“So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ... slaughtered in this way.”
The video bore the title “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American.” It was unclear whether Mr. al-Zarqawi — a lieutenant of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — was shown in the video, or was taking responsibility for ordering the execution.
The Web site on which the video was posted is known as a clearing house for al-Qaida and Islamic extremist groups' statements and tapes. An audiotape purportedly from Mr. bin Laden — which the CIA said was probably authentic — appeared on the same Web site last week.
Western officials say Mr. al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil al-Khalayleh, is a lieutenant of Mr. bin Laden. The United States has offered $10-million for information leading to the capture or killing of Mr. al-Zarqawi, saying he is trying to build a network of foreign militants in Iraq to work for al-Qaeda.
In the video, the speaker threatened both U.S. President George W. Bush and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf.
The slaying recalled the kidnapping and videotaped beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002 in Pakistan. Four Islamic extremists have been convicted of abducting Mr. Pearl, but seven other suspects — including those who allegedly slit his throat — remain at large.
Suzanne Berg, the mother of the 26-year-old Berg, of West Chester, Pa., said her son was in Iraq as an independent businessman to help rebuild communication antennas. He had been missing since April 9, she said.
“He had this idea that he could help rebuild the infrastructure,” she said.
The U.S. military said Tuesday that an American civilian was found dead in Baghdad, but it did not release his identity. The military said there were signs of trauma to the body. Suzanne Berg said she was told her son's death was violent but did not want to discuss details.
Berg, who was in Baghdad from late December to Feb. 1, returned to Iraq in March. He did not find any work and planned again to return home on March 30, but his daily communications home stopped on March 24. He later told his parents he was jailed by Iraqi officials at a checkpoint in Mosul.
“He was arrested and held without due process,” his father, Michael Berg, told the Daily Local News of West Chester recently. “By the time he got out, the whole area was inflamed with violence.
The FBI interviewed Mr. Berg's parents on March 31 "regarding Mr. Berg's purpose in Iraq,” FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams said.
On April 5, the Bergs filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia, contending that their son was being held illegally by the U.S. military. The next day Berg was released. He told his parents he hadn't been mistreated.
The Bergs last heard from their son April 9, when he said he would come home by way of Jordan, Turkey or Kuwait. But by then, hostilities in Iraq had escalated.
Suzanne Berg said on Tuesday that she was told her son's body would be transported to Kuwait and then to Dover, Del.
