Ken Bigley, the 62-year-old British engineer held hostage in Iraq for the past three weeks, has been killed by his abductors, his family and the British government confirmed Friday evening. Abu Dhabi Television had reported midday Friday that it had video evidence that Bigley had been killed, and sources in Fallujah said the engineer had been beheaded south of Baghdad Thursday afternoon. Bigley's younger brother Philip said there was "absolute proof" his brother had been murdered. He said the family in Liverpool believed the British government had done all it could. "It could be that the fate of Ken... was sealed from day one," he said. The horror of the ordeal would "haunt us forever", he said. But another brother, Paul, who lives in Amsterdam, accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of having "blood on his hands". British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also confirmed the murder. "Now that this terrible news has been confirmed I want to offer the family and friends of Kenneth Bigley my deepest condolences. This is a barbaric murder following three weeks of terrible suffering for his family," Straw said. --More 2246 Local Time 1946 GMT
