Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq beheaded an American civilian and vowed more killings in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, an Islamist Web site said today.
A poor quality videotape on the site showed a man dressed in orange overalls sitting bound on a white plastic chair in a bare room, then on the floor with five masked men behind him.
"My name is Nick Berg, my father's name is Michael... I have a brother and sister, David and Sarah," said the bound man, adding he was from Philadelphia.
After one of the masked men read out a statement, they pushed Berg to the floor and shouted "God is greatest" above his screams as one of them sawed his head off with a large knife then held it aloft for the camera.
The Web site said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a top ally of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was the man who cut off Berg's head. The statement read out before the killing was signed off with Zarqawi's name and dated May 11th.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi, 37, has raised his profile and status as al Qaeda's most active operational leader with a series of suicide bombs and attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.
"This shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom," White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan told reporters. "They have no regard for the lives of innocent men, women and children. We will pursue those responsible and bring them to justice."
The CIA was reviewing the video for clues about who was responsible for the beheading, a US official said. The person killed on the video identified himself as Berg and gave the correct names for his parents.
"Berg's body was found with his hands behind his back and beheaded," said another US official who declined to be identified. "The body was found along a roadside by a US military patrol."
"He was a private American citizen not associated with a military contract," said a State Department official.
It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the tape carried on the Muntada al-Ansar site.