Bodies of two British hostages killed in Iraq identified

The bodies of two British hostages killed in Iraq were formally identified on Sunday, 36 hours after being handed over by their kidnappers.

They are believed to be two of the four men who were guards for computer programmer Peter Moore. All five were men seized in Baghdad in late May 2007.

It was understood that Foreign Office officials were talking to the men's families on Sunday afternoon. The two Britons were identified by a British police forensics team that has been in Iraq training Iraqi police forces.

The bodies are likely to be flown to London as early as Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government moved to distance itself from the handing over of the bodies, which the foreign secretary, David Miliband,yesterday said had been facilitated by Iraqi officials.

Ali Al Dabbagh, an Iraqi government spokesman, said: "We are not a participant in these negotiations, but we knew there has been indirect contact to learn the fate of these hostages.

"I deny what David Milliband said about the Iraqi government handing over the bodies of the hostages."

Throughout two years of largely secret talks, British, US and Iraqi officials have denied directly negotiating with the hostage takers, a group of Shia Islamist extremists who aim to exchange prisoners.

The five contractors were seized by about 40 armed men, wearing police uniforms, at the Iraqi finance ministry.

The four men kidnapped with Moore named only as Alan and Jason from Scotland and Alec and a second man called Jason from Wales were employed as security guards by the Canadian security firm GardaWorld.