CAIRO, Egypt - The militants who beheaded American Nicholas Berg in Iraq said they had rejected ransom offers and killed him to avenge Muslims who suffered at the hands of American-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new audio tape.


The 60-minute recording, which was first posted on Islamic Web sites Tuesday, carried a voice purporting to be that of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. His Tawhid and Jihad Movement has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on American-led coalition troops.

The voice said there had been attempts - including offers of ransom - to save Berg's life, but the speaker did not identify who was behind the rescue bids.

"They were ready to give us whatever sums of money we asked ... to save this infidel's life, but despite our desperate need of money to fund our jihad, we preferred to take revenge for our sisters and our nation," the voice said.

"Haven't you heard them (the clerics) condemning the beheading of the American Berg," the voice on the tape said. "They condemned (the killing) because they were afraid of fighting the infidels (Americans)."

There was no immediate way to verify the voice on the tape as al-Zarqawi's, but the recorded voice sounded similar to that of the Jordanian-born militant's.

U.S. intelligence officials have determined "with high probability" that it was al-Zarqawi himself who beheaded Berg, based on an analysis of the voice heard on the video, a CIA official has said on condition of anonymity.

An armed vigilante group, calling itself "Salvation Movement," threatened on Tuesday to kill al-Zarqawi for insurgency attacks that have killed Iraqis, making the first internal threat against the Jordanian militant.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33133-2004Jul7.html