American beheading in Iraq revives memories of similar execution in Kashmir
The beheading of American contractor Nicholas Berg in Iraq has revived memories in Indian Kashmir of a similar execution of a Western hostage by gunmen nine years ago. "In 1995 I saw a picture of a beheaded Ostro in one of the leading English news magazines and it was horrible," said a local journalist Wednesday, referring to Norwegian Hans Christian Ostro, who was beheaded in south Kashmir on August 13, 1995.
The beheading of American contractor Nicholas Berg in Iraq has revived memories in Indian Kashmir of a similar execution of a Western hostage by gunmen nine years ago.
In a grainy video on an Islamist website, Berg was shown being decapitated with a large knife by a group of masked men who claimed their action was in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Two leading Arab satellite channels, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, Wednesday broadcast harrowing images from a video showing Berg before his execution by the group, apparently linked to Al-Qaeda.
The video is cut before the grisly decapitation.
Grabs from the television footage have now been circulated by news and photo agencies across the world, including one showing a headless body.
"In 1995 I saw a picture of a beheaded Ostro in one of the leading English news magazines and it was horrible," said a local journalist Wednesday, referring to Norwegian Hans Christian Ostro, who was beheaded in south Kashmir on August 13, 1995.
"The latest footage on television about the reported beheading of the American brought the memory of Ostro's slaying back," he said.
Book-seller Ghulam Ahmed agreed, saying: "The killing seems to be similar to that of Hans Christian Ostro."
Ostro was one of six Westerners seized by gunmen in the foothills of the Himalayas in the southern Kashmir district of Anantnag between July 4 and 8 of that year.
Police recovered his body in the middle of a road in south Kashmir with the severed head resting on his chest.
An American, John Childs, managed to escape, but the fate of two other Americans, Donald Hutchings and Keith Manigam, Briton Paul Wells and German Dirk Hasert remains unknown.
The Kashmiri captors of the Westerners had released pictures showing masked men surrounding five of their victims in a forested area.
Though the case has not been officially closed, the missing hostages are presumed dead.
The unknown Islamic rebel group al Faran claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and demanded the release of several hardcore militants in exchange for setting the hostages free.
Police said the group was associated with the then-hardline organization Harkat-ul-Ansar.
Harkat, which was later banned by the United States, denied any link to the abduction and instead blamed Indian agencies, a charge spurned as "rubbish" by officials.