- Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi showed the beheading of Japanese hostage Shosei Koda in Iraq while he was lying on top of a U.S. flag in an Internet video posted Tuesday.

Al Qaeda Organization of Holy War in Iraq said Tokyo had offered a ransom of “millions of dollars” for 24-year-old Koda. It warned Japan to withdraw its forces from Iraq or “drown in the hell of the mujahideen” along with “crusader forces.”

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima denied the ransom claim. “It’s just groundless. We have not done that,” he said, denouncing the video posting as “disgusting.”

I would tend to believe the Japanese did not offer to pay a ransom based upon the reaction by many Japanese. Many Japanese questioned why Koda was even inside of Iraq and did not seem apathetic to his suffering. As far as Koda being beheaded on an American flag, that’s a new one. Of course Zarqawi, who has sworn allegiance to Al Qaida, would also like to help influence our election and this is the probable reason why this was done.

The Jawa Report linked with Zarqawi Releases Beheading Video of Japanese Victim