US Hostage Tortured and Killed

American hostage Tom Fox has been killed and his body, showing signs of torture, left at a garbage dump in Baghdad, police said on Saturday.

One of the policemen who found the body said the 54-year-old peace activist, wearing a gray tracksuit, appeared to have beaten with electric cables before his death. He had a single gunshot wound to the head and his hands were tied behind him.

Fox, who had been in Iraq to campaign against the U.S. occupation and to work for the release of Iraqis held by U.S. forces, was taken hostage with three colleagues in November by a group calling itself the "Swords of Truth".

My condolences go out to Fox's family and friends. Fox likely believed that terrorists would spare his life until the very end because he opposed the war. It was a deadly mistake on his part.

The Jawa Report has more details, and full backgrounds on other ongoing hostage situations in Iraq.