bush condemns latest beheading

Bush condemns latest beheading
ABC Online

United States President George W Bush has condemned the beheading of a South Korean man by Iraqi militants as a ''brutal action'' and said he is confident that Seoul will send additional troops to Iraq despite the incident.

''I haven't had a chance to speak to (South Korean) President Roh (Moo Hyun), but I would hope that President Roh would understand that the free world cannot be intimidated by the brutal action of these barbaric people,'' Mr Bush told reporters.

''They're trying to shake our will and our confidence,'' Mr Bush said.

''They're trying to get us to withdraw from the world so that they can impose their dark vision on people.''

The Qatar-based satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that Kim Sun-Il, the South Korean man taken hostage by a militant group in Iraq, was beheaded.

South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry officials in Soul later confirmed his execution.

The militant group kidnapped Mr Kim, who worked for a South Korean company supplying the US military in Iraq, last week and threatened to behead him unless South Korea pulled its troops out of Iraq.

The South Korean Government said last week that it will send another 3,000 troops in addition to the 600 already dispatched there.

--Kyodo