An Islamist group in Iraq said it had killed two female Italian hostages in a statement posted on an Internet site.
Italian government sources urged "the utmost caution" and said that there was nothing to confirm the statement by a group calling itself the Jihad Organisation, which said it had killed the women because Italy had not obeyed its call to withdraw its forces from Iraq.
But the aid organisation Bridge to Baghdad which employed the two women said on its website that the report - posted on a site not often used by Iraqi militant groups -- was "not very credible" and it had serious doubts about its veracity.
A militant group with a similar name, the Islamic Jihad Organisation, said on September 12th that it would kill the hostages in 24 hours if Italian troops did not leave Iraq.
A purported statement by the previously unknown Islamic Jihad Organisation had said earlier in the month: "We will extend our deadline 24 hours from the issue of this statement, after that if we don't see Italian soldiers withdrawing from Iraq we will implement execution."
That statement, which was followed by a tour of Gulf countries by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to appeal for the hostages' release, appeared on another website that often carried statements that turned out to be false. That site is currently inaccessible.