Kenneth Bigley Murdered

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-08 05:36pm

Hostage Bigley murdered in Iraq

British hostage Kenneth Bigley has been murdered by his captors in Iraq, his family has confirmed.

A video released by militants showed Mr Bigley being killed, witnesses said.

"We can confirm that the family has now received absolute proof that Ken Bigley was executed by his captors," his brother Philip said.

Mr Bigley, 62, of Liverpool, was taken hostage on 16 September by the Tawhid and Jihad group. It beheaded two Americans captured at the same time.

Philip Bigley said the family had experienced "three long weeks of waiting and three long weeks of agony".

The government had done all it could to secure Mr Bigley's release, he said, but his brother's fate may have been sealed "from day one".

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the government had exchanged messages with the captors but they refused to abandon their demands.

Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed his "utter revulsion" at the killing.

The killing was also condemned by Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as a horrible, barbaric act.

There were also reports from the militant stronghold of Falluja that Mr Bigley had been beheaded on Thursday afternoon in Latifiya, near Baghdad.

A video released by the kidnappers showed six hooded, armed men standing behind Mr Bigley, who was on his knees, according to a witness who watched the video for the Reuters news agency.

One of the six spoke in Arabic for a minute.

He said the group would carry out "the sentence of execution against this hostage" because the British government "did not meet our demand" to release Iraqi women detained by the US-led command in Iraq.

He then took a knife from his belt and cut off Mr Bigley's head as three other militants held him down.

The killer then held up the head for the camera.

'Utter revulsion'

Prime Minister Tony Blair said of the murder: "I feel desperately sorry for Ken Bigley, for his family who have behaved with extraordinary dignity and courage.

"I feel utter revulsion at the people who did this."

He said, the kidnappers had "played" the situation and their actions should not prevail over those "wanting to make Iraq a better place".

The Queen sent a private message of condolence to Ken Bigley's mother Lil this evening, Buckingham Palace said.

Conservative leader Michael Howard condemned the kidnappers' "grotesque barbarity" adding: "We shall never give in to blackmail from terrorists."

Mr Bigley's relatives gathered at their family home in Liverpool as news of his death broke.

His son Craig, mother Lil and brothers Philip, Stan and Paul had campaigned for his release.

'Immeasurable loss'

On Friday Philip Bigley thanked "those who have prayed for Ken and our family, from all religious backgrounds".

"We will always remember Ken for his love, compassion and, above all, his 'Liverpool' sense of humour," he said.

"He was a truly wonderful father, husband, brother and son. The loss to our family is immeasurable.

"The horror of these final days will haunt us for ever."

He said Mr Bigley's Liverpool-based family believed the government did everything possible to secure his release "in this impossible situation".

"It could be that the fate of Ken was sealed from day one," he said.

In a telephone interview with the TV station Al-Jazeera, Paul Bigley said he held the group who took his brother fully responsible for his death.

Mr Bigley said: "This war is illegal and it must stop. The United Nations declared this war illegal. There are no weapons of mass destruction, which were taken as a foundation for this war. Therefore, this war must stop."

Mr Bigley was last seen alive in a video broadcast last week, pleading for Tony Blair to help him.

Mr Bigley's Thai-born wife Sombat, had made several emotional appeals for mercy.

The engineer was captured just weeks before his official retirement when he would have joined her in Thailand.

Mr Bigley's Irish-born mother Lil, 86, has been treated in hospital several times.

Tawhid and Jihad is led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The US says he has links to al-Qaeda and there is a £13.9m bounty on his head.

More than 30 of the 140 foreign nationals kidnapped in Iraq have been killed.

Fuckers...

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2004-10-08 05:40pm

Not unexpected, sadly.

Will be interesting to see the media reaction in the morning's papers, I suppose, see what angles they take with it.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-08 05:43pm

That raghead bastard al-Zarqawi planned this all along! They had abso-fucking-lutely no intention of letting this man go. They probably just wanted his pleas for mercy to be televised and shown for their own amusement. I expect a beheading video to appear anytime soon from those savages.

The sooner we pull out of that total clusterfuck the US has made, the better.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2004-10-08 06:03pm

Kill Zarqawi first, THEN pull out.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2004-10-08 06:08pm

I'm so fucking tired on the Arabic television channels that keeps airing the tapes they recieve from the terrorists. Now at least one of the channels that recieved the tape with the murder itself had the decency not to air the execution of Mr. Bigley, but they still provide means for the terrorists to get attention when they air tapes with hostages.

My deepest condoleances to the family and friends of Mr. Bigley.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-08 06:17pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Kill Zarqawi first, THEN pull out.

The aptly named "intelligence" services can't find the bastard. You'd think a guy as big as that would give some leads and screw-up once or twice.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2004-10-08 07:47pm

He said the group would carry out "the sentence of execution against this hostage" because the British government "did not meet our demand" to release Iraqi women detained by the US-led command in Iraq.

Just how are the British going to release prisoners held by the Americans?

He was dead the minute they got him, that they drew it out just goes to show they're prime bastards.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2004-10-08 08:10pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Kill Zarqawi first, THEN pull out.
The aptly named "intelligence" services can't find the bastard. You'd think a guy as big as that would give some leads and screw-up once or twice.

This is their country, they know it FAR better than we do.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-10-08 08:16pm

No, not Zarqawi's. Zarqawi is not an Iraqi, but many of the people he's running with are.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-10-08 11:04pm

Once again, I find the Shep Solution appealing and truth be told increasing attractive. Nuke the lunatic fuckers and be done with this shit.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-10-09 03:17am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Kill Zarqawi first, THEN pull out.
The aptly named "intelligence" services can't find the bastard. You'd think a guy as big as that would give some leads and screw-up once or twice.

He probably does, intelligence is bogged down in lack of translators.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2004-10-09 05:58am

I can't say I'm surprised. Despite all the hope some people had, and all the efforts some went to, it was clear they intended to kill him from the start. He was a propganda tool to them, nothing more.

Perinquus · Post by **Perinquus** » 2004-10-09 11:59am

You know, savages like these almost make me wish there were a hell. What's really despicable is the way they kept this poor man for so long, allowing both him and his family to nurture false hopes (since they pretty clearly never inteded to let him go), and prolonging their agony. They are vermin. If I could be given the power of God for just a few minutes, I'd change their appearance slightly, give them all a perfect command of Yiddish and Polish, and transport them back to 1943 and turn them over to the SS. And, now that I think of it, make them sets of identical twins and bring them to the notice of Dr. Josef Mengele. It apeals to my sense of poetic justice that they should die as a consequence of being taken for the very ethic group they despise most of all.