Posted on 12/16/2004 11:17:15 AM PST by areafiftyone
Gunmen in Iraq claim to have shot dead an Italian photographer they had taken hostage, reports say.
A blindfolded body - purportedly that of 52-year-old Salvatore Santoro - was shown to a group of Iraqi journalists in the desert near the town of Ramadi.
The militants who led the journalists to the body also showed them a passport and documents in Mr Santoro's name.
Mr Santoro is believed to have been a resident of the UK. Officials in Rome and London cannot confirm the reports.
Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said reports of Mr Santoro's killing should be treated with caution.
The blindfold on the body seen in pictures taken by the Iraqi journalists made it difficult to identify the man, Mr Fini said.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the journalists were led to the body by a group of militants that stopped them at a checkpoint near Ramadi in central Iraq.
The gunmen told them the Italian photographer was taken prisoner after he tried to drive through an insurgent roadblock, crashed his vehicle and killed one of their group.
Separate footage obtained by Arab broadcaster al-Jazeera shows a group claiming to be the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mujahideen posing with documents apparently taken from the slain man.
There are conflicting reports over why Mr Santoro may have been in Iraq.
Targets
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been a vocal supporter of the US-led campaign in the country.
Several Italians have been among the foreigners taken hostage by Iraqi militants.
Seven of them have been killed, including the journalist Enzo Baldoni and a security guard, Fabrizio Quattrochi.
Two Italian women working as aid workers in Baghdad were released after weeks in captivity earlier this year.
ping
Umm... Those journalists need to be investigated as to why they are trusted by the insurgents.
Just in time for tomorrow's (Friday's) sermons at the local Mosques. Time to praise Allah for this deed and to insure all Muslims that their charitable donations are reaching their intended recipients.
Just more reason to praise Muslims and their religion of peace.
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