Hezbollah, Hamas condemn American's beheading

Two militant groups, Hezbollah and Hamas, issued strongly worded condemnations yesterday of the videotaped beheading of American civilian Nick Berg in Iraq.

Berg was beheaded Saturday by men claiming to act in the name of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, an affiliate of Osama bin Laden, as revenge for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers. The videotape, posted on the Internet Tuesday, drew revulsion around the world.

Yesterday, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the militant Palestinian group Hamas, both labelled terrorist organisations by the United States, said the slaying was appalling and un-Islamic.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, Hezbollah called Berg's killing an "extremely brutal and cruel" act.

"Hezbollah condemns this grisly act which has caused great harm to Islam and to Muslims by this group which falsely claims to belong to the religion of mercy, compassion and genuine human values," the statement read.

Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, denounced both Berg's killers and US President George W. Bush in the same breath.

"I condemn this brutal act and sympathise with the family of the slain American man, who I consider a victim of the wrong US policies in the region," Hamdan said.