WNicholas Evan Berg was an American freelance radio-tower repairman who went to Iraq after the United States' invasion of Iraq. He was abducted and beheaded according to a video released in May 2004 by Islamist militants in response to the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse involving the United States Army and Iraqi prisoners. The CIA claimed Berg was murdered by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The decapitation video was released on the internet, reportedly from London to a Malaysian-hosted homepage by the Islamist organization Muntada al-Ansar.
WKenneth John Bigley was a British civil engineer who was kidnapped in the al-Mansour district of Baghdad, Iraq, on 16 September 2004, along with his colleagues Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, both United States citizens. The three men were working for Gulf Supplies and Commercial Services, a Kuwaiti company working on reconstruction projects in Iraq. The men knew their home was being watched and realised they were in great danger when their Iraqi house guard informed them he was leaving due to threats by militias for protecting American and British workers. Bigley and the two Americans decided it was worth the risk and continued to live in the house. All were subsequently kidnapped and later beheaded.
WStephen Farrell is a journalist who works for Reuters news agency. He holds both Irish and British citizenship. Farrell worked for The Times from 1995 to 2007, reporting from Kosovo, India, Afghanistan and the Middle East, including Iraq. In 2007, he joined The New York Times, and reported from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Libya, later moving to New York and London. Since January 2018, Farrell has been based in Jerusalem as the bureau chief of Reuters.
WThomas William Fox was an American Quaker peace activist, affiliated with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq. He was kidnapped on November 26, 2005 in Baghdad along with three other CPT activists, leading to the 2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis. His body was found on March 9, 2006.
WJama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which may be abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a militant Jihadist group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999 and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi insurgency (2003–11), the group became a decentralized network with foreign fighters and a considerable Iraqi membership.
WKim Sun-il was a South Korean interpreter and Christian missionary who was kidnapped and murdered in Iraq.
WShosei Koda was a Japanese citizen who was kidnapped and later beheaded in Iraq on 29 October 2004, by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, while touring the country. He was the first Japanese person beheaded in Iraq.
WAkihiko Saito was a Japanese security specialist adviser who was taken hostage by the Jaish Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq in 2005.
WGiuliana Sgrena is an Italian journalist who works for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto and the German weekly Die Zeit. While working in Iraq, she was kidnapped by insurgents on 4 February 2005. After her release on 4 March, Sgrena and the two Italian intelligence officers who had helped secure her release came under fire from U.S. forces while on their way to Baghdad International Airport. Nicola Calipari, a major general in the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service was killed, and Sgrena and one other officer were wounded in the incident. The event caused an international outcry.
WAhmed Kousay Al-Taie was a United States Army soldier who was captured in October 2006 in Baghdad and later executed by his captors; he was the last missing U.S. serviceman from the Iraq War to be recovered.