Evidence of hostage murders discovered

Iraqi forces fighting alongside US troops in Fallujah yesterday claimed to have found the houses in which civilian hostages were held by militants and beheaded in front of a camera.

Iraqi forces fighting alongside US troops in Fallujah yesterday claimed to have found the houses in which civilian hostages were held by militants and beheaded in front of a camera.

Iraqi troops found video disks with recordings of the killings, the black clothes worn by militants in the videos and records of the names of hostages, Major-General Abdel Qadir Jassem said. "We have found hostage slaughterhouses in Fallujah that were used by these people," said General Jassem, who has just been named military governor of Fallujah by the US-appointed Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi.

Although General Jassem said records of prisoners' names had been found, he could not say whether information had been uncovered about the humanitarian worker, Margaret Hassan,held since 19 October, or the two French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, held since 21 August.

General Jassem said that records of "hundreds" of prisoners had been found. At least 28 foreigners are known to be held and 38 are known to have been killed. But Iraqis have been abducted and killed in much higher numbers.

The beheadings of hostages have become the most haunting image of what is unfolding in Iraq. Although most television networks, both Western and Arab, have refused to show the grotesque execution videos, they are widely available on the Internet and thousands of Westerners have watched them.

Since the first video was released, of the American contractor Nick Berg being beheaded with a knife, there has been a steady stream of similar videos. At least 38 foreign hostages have been killed in Iraq. Although some were shot, many have been beheaded on camera, including the British hostage Kenneth Bigley.

It was the beheadings, more than anything else, that forced the Americans' hand into going into Fallujah. The last aid agencies were leaving and any effort at reconstruction was impossible with contractors facing abuction and murder.

US intelligencefailed to penetrate militant groups carrying out the beheadings and rescue operations were impossible because US forces did not know where the hostages were held. As a result, US forces and their Iraqi allies were always going to want to find traces of the hostage-taking in Fallujah. But the fact that all they captured yesterday were empty houses will come as a disappointment.

The militants appear to have fled the city before the onslaught began. Most prominent among them is believed to be the Jordanian al-Qa'ida ally, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi..

US commanders were conceding yesterday that they suspect Zarqawi is long gone. The militants have other bases, such as Latifiyah where Kenneth Bigley is believed to have been held before his beheading.

The fact that it was claimed the houses were discovered by Iraqi troops may be a carefully staged piece of propaganda, since US and Iraqi forces are fighting alongside one another.