Videos show killing of kidnapped journalist

Kidnappers of American journalist Daniel Pearl made two videotapes showing, in graphic detail, his murder.

A Pakistani investigator told The Associated Press that kidnappers killed Mr Pearl by cutting his throat, and then decapitated him. He said two videotapes, one longer than the next, contained images of Mr Pearl's death and the moments afterward.

Another source close to the investigation said a tape showed Mr Pearl before he was killed saying into the videocamera, "I am a Jew, my mother is a Jew."

No details were immediately available on exactly where or when the reporter killed. Karachi police said no body had been recovered so far.

The Wall Street Journal reporter was killed a month after he was taken hostage in Pakistan.

The country's President, General Pervez Musharraf offered condolences and ordered security forces to apprehend "each and every one of the gang of terrorists" involved in the killing.

President Bush said such crimes "only deepen the resolve of the United States" to fight terrorism. Speaking today, on the last day of his six–day Asia tour, he expressed special sympathy for Mr Pearl's wife and the unborn baby who "will now know his father only through the memory of others."

Mr Pearl reported from the United States, Europe and Asia in a 12–year career with the financial daily. Based in Bombay, India, for the past year as the Journal's bureau chief for South Asia, he was working in Pakistan as part of its coverage of the war on terrorism.