Byline: Cameron Simpson;
THE body of Ken Bigley, killed by his kidnappers last week after three weeks in captivity, was dumped just south of Baghdad on Friday, sources close to the insurgency said yesterday. Mr
Bigley, 62, was beheaded by followers of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant, on Thursday, and a videotape of the killing was handed to an Arabic television channel on Friday.
Insurgent sources said last week that Mr Bigley was killed in the town of Latifiya, about 20 miles south-west of Baghdad. Those reports have not been independently confirmed. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: ''At the moment we haven't got or found the body.
We are making efforts to find it.'' He declined to comment on where they were looking. The British embassy in Baghdad had no information. In Birmingham, the Central Mosque said a book of condolence for Mr Bigley had been stolen, and other tributes to the British engineer had been destroyed. Muslim leaders set up tributes at the city's main mosque to express the community's horror.
All the imams and Muslim leaders from around Birmingham, which has a large Muslim population, signed the book and cards. Candles and pictures of Mr Bigley had been placed outside.
Adam Yosef, mosque spokesman, said: ''On Saturday evening there were a few problems with a few individuals who were threatening to take the book away. ''On Sunday morning the caretaker found the book was gone. ''The following day the tribute was also damaged and ruined. Parts of it were stolen, posters were removed and signs were ripped off. It's a disgusting thing to do.''
A second book of condolence has been opened and will be forwarded to the Bigley family in Liverpool along with other tributes.
Source Citation:"Bigley's body was 'dumped south of Baghdad'." The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland) (Oct 13, 2004):
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