Worker Abducted in Iraq Is Reportedly Killed

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said today it was trying to verify whether a photo of a dead Asian man posted on the Internet was that of a Japanese security worker kidnapped in Iraq.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo said a website reportedly operated by the Sunni militant group Ansar al Sunna Army claimed that Japanese hostage Akihiko Saito had died. Kyodo said the group had posted pictures of the bloodied victim.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Akira Chiba said the ministry could not tell whether the image showed Saito, a 44-year-old security consultant who has been missing in Iraq since his convoy was ambushed early in May.

Four other foreign workers -- four of them confirmed dead -- were also abducted.