http://www.cnn.com/2...dnap/index.htmlU.S. hostage Johnson beheadedSources say body found in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda militants kept a pledge to kill their American hostage, posting three chilling photographs Friday on an Islamist Web site to prove they had beheaded Paul Johnson Jr.
The Lockheed Martin Corp. employee was kidnapped in Riyadh last Saturday. Sources in Riyadh said Johnson's body was found in the eastern part of Riyadh; official statements are expected soon.
Abdel Aziz Al-Muqrin, the self-proclaimed military leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, had threatened Tuesday to kill Johnson in 72 hours unless the Saudi government released al Qaeda prisoners and Westerners left the Arabian Peninsula.
"As we promised, we the mujahedeen from the Falluja Squadron slaughtered the American hostage Paul Johnson after the deadline we gave to the Saudi tyrants," a statement said on the Web site. It has been translated from the Arabic.
"So he got his fair share from this life and for him to taste a bit of what the Muslims have been suffering from Apache helicopter attacks. They were tortured by its missiles."
Johnson, 49, worked on Apache helicopters in Saudi Arabia and had lived there for more than a decade.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned what he called an "action of barbarism."
"It shows once again what the world is dealing with -- to behead somebody or murder somebody, somebody innocent who was only trying to help," he said. "It will cause us and the Saudis to redouble our efforts to go after the terrorists wherever they are, wherever they hide."
But a senior U.S. State Department official told CNN the United States would now act to "batten down the hatch and don't give them an easy target," and urge Americans to leave the country.
"We want Americans to leave. We want the people that are there to take appropriate precautions," the official said.
The official added that Johnson lived away from the heavy fortified expatriate compounds and "was a sitting duck."
The al Qaeda Web statement also said the killing was "a lesson for them to learn for whoever comes to our country, this will be their punishment."
Al-Muqrin had claimed responsibility for Johnson's kidnapping and the death of another American, Kenneth Scroggs, on Saturday on behalf of a group called the Al Falluja Squadron, which claims to have ties to al Qaeda.
The photographs on the Web site plainly show the face of Johnson, the man seen in videotapes with his captors earlier this week.
Pleas unheededEarlier in the day, Johnson's Thai wife, Noom, tearfully pleaded for his release.
Muslim friends of Johnson -- including some clerics -- also pleaded for his release. But the militants were not swayed.
Lockheed Martin spokesman, Tom Jurkowsky, said the company is "dealing with the family."
"All we can say is we're very distressed, very disheartened," Jurkowsky said.
Earlier Friday, Al Arabiya as well as CNN had aired an emotional appeal from Johnson's Thai wife, Noom.
U.S. and Saudi investigators concluded an intensive meeting Friday, Saudi officials said, as security forces spread all over the kingdom searching for Johnson.
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Topic: The Religion Of Peace Strikes Again (Read 339 times)