Reports that British hostage Mr Kenneth Bigley had been killed today were dismissed by the British Foreign Office as coming from a "discredited" source.
The unconfirmed reports were posted on an al-Qaida-linked group website.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the site called alezah which is running that story, but it is a discredited website. We don't think it is to be taken seriously at this point."
The site is usually used by followers of Mr Bigley's captor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to post their statements.
The same website also claimed that seven British soldiers had been captured but an army spokesman said all forces "are accounted for."
PA
