|
 |
|
Bigley was reported beheaded by one of the kidnappers
|
BAGHDAD,
October 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A British hostage in
Iraq was killed in Iraq, as Muslims in Britain were quick to condemn
the “deeply repugnant” and “morally reprehensible” act on
Friday, October 8.
A
video footage was posted on a website, showing Kim Bigley making a
statement before one of the six kidnappers standing behind him cut his
head off with a knife, Reuters said.
The
news agency said one witness in the office of a foreign news
organization in Baghdad had seen the tape of slaying the 62-year-old
engineer.
Bigley
appeared in the tape wearing an orange jump suit, similar to the type
worn by detainees in the notorious US detention camp of Guantanamo Bay
in Cuba.
Official
British sources were quoted by the pan-Arab channel of Aljazeera as
confirming the beheading. The broadcaster gave no further details.
Another
Arab satellite channel, Al-Arabiya, said in a separate report that it
was told by “informed” sources that Bigley had been killed on
Thursday in Latifiya, south-west of Baghdad.
“We
have learned from informed sources in the Iraqi capital that the
kidnappers of Bigley have killed him,” it said.
Britain's
Sky TV, however, quoted British government sources as saying Bigley
had been killed. Bigley has been held by the Tawhid wal Jihad group,
which snatched him on September 16 -- along with two American
colleagues, Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong who have since been beheaded.
“Appalled”
The
news on the beheading of the British hostage drew condemnation from
the Muslim community in Britain.
“There
can be absolutely no justification for the killing of this defenseless
individual. This is a deed that is deeply repugnant and morally
reprehensible. We unequivocally condemn it and hope that Ken’s
murderers are brought to justice swiftly,” said Iqbal Sacranie,
secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain in a statement.
“We
offer our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the Bigley family who
have gone through the most dreadful of experiences. Throughout this
terrible ordeal we have maintained close contact with Ken’s
family,”
He
said British Muslims can not find any justification to kill the
British engineer.
“Sadly,
the humanitarian mission to Iraq undertaken by Dr Daud Abdullah, MCB
Assistant Secretary-General, and Dr Musharraf Hussain was not able to
secure the desired outcome in this case.
However,
Sacranie said, their efforts will serve to underscore the complete and
utter rejection of these kinds of vile and barbaric actions by the
vast majority of the worldwide Muslim community. "
“Blood
on Hands”
Bigley's
relatives gathered at their family home in Liverpool as news of his
killing broke. His son Craig, mother Lil and brothers Philip and Paul
had campaigned for his release.
After
the news, Paul Bigley appealed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair to
stop this “illegal” war, saying the premier has “blood on his
hands.
“Please,
please stop this war and prevent other lives being lost. It is illegal
and has to stop. Blair has blood on his hands,” his spokeswoman
Carmel Byrne was quoted by the BBC News Online as saying.
Paul
Bigley had been due to take part in a Stop the War Coalition rally at
Liverpool University on Friday evening, via a video link from his
Amsterdam home.
Bigley
was last seen alive in a video broadcast last week, pleading for Prime
Minister Tony Blair to help him.
Three
police officers were outside the family home, with a mass of press
photographers lined up directly across the street from the family's
Victorian mid-terrace home.
The
beheading came one day after a new official report by American
inspectors has been released concluding that Iraq had possessed
no weapons of mass destruction before the
US-British invasion of the oil-rich country.
The
report came as a decisive evidence discrediting US President George W.
Bush’s and Blair’s justification for attacking the country, which
has the world’s second largest oil reserves.
Britain
has the second largest contingent in Iraq after the US.
