"Saudis Say They Found American's Head"

[GreenPartyVoter]

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - The head of slain American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr., who was kidnapped and decapitated by militants in Saudi Arabia last month, was found by security forces during a raid that targeted the hideout of the Saudi al-Qaida chief. Two militants were killed, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry said the head was discovered in a freezer in a house, although Johnson's body was not found and a further search was being conducted.

The spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Carol Kalin, said that Saudi authorities had informed the embassy of the discovery and that consular officials in Washington were in the process of notifying Johnson's family.

The Interior Ministry said the raid occurred in the King Fahd neighborhood of Riyadh. An earlier statement from an official at the ministry said authorities were holding the wife and three children of Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi, the man believed to be al-Qaida chief in Saudi Arabia, after the raid.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040721/D83V7N2G1.html