The British Embassy in Iraq is confirming that three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Aid worker Margaret Hassan have been arrested in a joint raid by US and Iraqi forces south of Baghdad.
An unnamed intelligence source with Iraq's Interior Ministry is claiming that five suspects have confessed to the murder of Hassan, who was the Director of CARE International in Iraq.
On Nov. 16, the Arab satellite television station Al-Jazeera said it had received a video showing a hooded militant shooting a blindfolded woman in the head. British officials said they believed the woman in the video was Hassan, and her family said they believed she was dead. However, no body was recovered.
Her captors later issued videos showing her pleading for Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw troops from Iraq and calling for the release of female Iraqi prisoners.
Items seized in the raid and believed to belong to Hassan included a purse and articles of women's clothing.
Videos of Hassan pleading for her life and asking Tony Blair to recall his troops and release female Iraqi prisoners were also circulated by the terrorist at the time.
Although her body has not been found, a video released to an Arabic news channel, al-Jazeera, showed the murder of a western woman believed to be Mrs. Hassan. The station refused to air the entire tape for what it called humanitarian reasons.
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