The Australian Prime Minister has retracted his statement made earlier today that a body found in Fallujah appeared to be that of a kidnapped Irish aid worker.
Mr John Howard had earlier stated said a body found in the war-torn city of Fallujah was probably that of Mrs Margaret Hassan.
But he later withdrew that statement. "The body has not been returned by those who killed her," he said.
Mr Howard had previously told parliament in Canberra: "The body found in Fallujah appears to have been Margaret's and the video of the execution of a western woman appears on all the available information to have been genuine."
Mr Howard did not say which body he was referring to but on Sunday, US marines found the mutilated body of what they believe was a Western woman on a street in Fallujah during the assault on the rebel stronghold.
The body, clothed in what appeared to be a purple, velour dress, was wrapped in a blanket, with a blood-soaked black cloth nearby. As of Tuesday night, the US command said the body had not been identified. A Polish woman who was also kidnapped has not been located.
Mrs Hassan was kidnapped by armed men who stopped her car as she was going to work for CARE International in Baghdad on October 19th.