Iraq hostages' bodies identified
The remains of two British hostages handed to authorities in Iraq were identified by forensics today, UK government sources said.
Results of the tests confirmed neither of the remains belonged to Peter Moore, one of five men held captive since 2007.
The source said liaison officers were currently with the families of the dead. She added: “A formal announcement will be made later.”
Relatives of the Britons taken captive in the Iraqi capital in May 2007 revealed they were "clinging on to hope'' as UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said everyone involved in efforts to release the men had "failed''.
The five contractors were seized on May 29, 2007 by about 40 armed men wearing police uniforms at the Iraqi Finance Ministry.
The four other men – named only as Alan and Jason from Scotland, and Alec and a second man called Jason from Wales – were employed as security guards by the Canadian security firm GardaWorld to protect Mr Moore.
Mr Miliband described the developments as “distressing” and said the British authorities had worked with the Iraqi authorities with the hope that the men would be released alive and well.
“In this case we, all of us, have clearly failed to achieve that goal in respect of two bodies whose identities we cannot yet confirm,” he said yesterday.
“It’s very important that we continue to work for the confirmation of those identities and finally for the benefit of the other hostages.”
