Body in Iraq video is of missing Japanese - brother
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-28 18:24

The younger brother of a Japanese security worker taken captive in Iraq said on Saturday that a dead body shown in Internet footage posted by an Islamic militant group was of his brother.

The group, called Army of Ansar al-Sunna, posted a video showing identification papers and a passport bearing the name of Akihiko Saito, 44, a former paratrooper and veteran of the French Foreign Legion, who has been missing in Iraq since May 8.

Hironobu Saito, the younger brother of Akihiko Saito, speaks to reporters in front of his home in Chiba, east of Tokyo May 28, 2005. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that a militant group has released a new statement and footage via a website saying that they have killed Japanese citizen Akihiko Saito who was captured in an ambush in Iraq earlier this month. [Reuters]

The footage, which was not dated but was seen by Reuters on Saturday, showed the body of a dead man lying on his back with blood covering his face. He appeared to resemble Saito's pictures.

"I saw the footage and confirmed that it was my older brother," Hironobu Saito said in a handwritten statement to media organizations, adding that he had conveyed his view to police and to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

A Foreign Ministry official said, however, that the ministry was still making checks.

"The Foreign Ministry will continue to make efforts for confirmation by also collecting information from Hart Security," the official told Reuters, referring to the British security firm employing Saito.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks to reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo May 28, 2005. Local Japanese media reported that a militant group has released new statement and footage via a website saying they have killed Japanese citizen Akihiko Saito who was captured in an ambush in Iraq earlier this month. [Reuters]

Six Japanese civilians have been taken hostage since the war in Iraq began.

Backpacker Shosei Koda was beheaded by militants last October, but the others were released unharmed.

In addition, two Japanese diplomats and two Japanese freelance journalists have been killed in Iraq.

Army of Ansar al-Sunna, one of the main Sunni Muslim insurgent groups, has claimed responsibility for attacks against U.S. forces and the Iraqi government and killed several hostages.

Earlier this month, the militant group said it had seriously injured Saito after they abducted him in an ambush of a convoy of cars coming from a U.S. base near Baghdad.

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