The husband of Dublin-born aid worker Ms Margaret Hassan has said he believes she has been murdered after a video tape, described by the British embassy in Baghdad, as 'probably genuine', surfaced this afternoon.
"I have been told that there is a video of Margaret which appears to show her murder. The video may be genuine but I do not know," Mr Tahsin Hassan said in Baghdad.
"I want to know if she is alive or dead. If she's dead I want to know where she is so I can bury her in peace."
"We can confirm there is a tape that appears to show Margaret's murder," an embassy official said. "We believe it is probably genuine."
Dublin-born Margaret Hassan, who has joint Irish, British and Iraqi nationality and had lived in Baghdad for some 30 years, was seized on October 19th while on her way to work at Care International, the charity where she was country director.
Ms Hassan had appeared in video tapes released by her unknown captors calling on the British government to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
The Taoiseach has said the apparent murder of Mrs Hassan by those who took her hostage "stands condemned by the entire international community".
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was "investigating media reports" of Mrs Hassan's death but had no further information at present.
Agencies