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Dead British hostages 'were shot' Dead British hostages 'were shot'
(10 minutes later)
The two British hostages whose bodies were returned from Iraq last week had been shot, the BBC has learned.The two British hostages whose bodies were returned from Iraq last week had been shot, the BBC has learned.
A coroner concluded security guards Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow, died from gunshot wounds.A coroner concluded security guards Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow, died from gunshot wounds.
The men's families were informed on Sunday night and they, in turn, told the families of the other three British hostages still missing in Iraq.The men's families were informed on Sunday night and they, in turn, told the families of the other three British hostages still missing in Iraq.
The BBC's Frank Gardener said the news would come as a "bitter blow" to them.The BBC's Frank Gardener said the news would come as a "bitter blow" to them.
The three, still thought to be in captivity, are two other security guards and Peter Moore, the IT consultant whom they were protecting.
The bodies of Mr Swindlehurst and Mr Creswell were flown to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire last Friday. The Oxfordshire coroner then opened an inquest into their deaths.
The five men were captured in May 2007 at Baghdad's Ministry of Finance by a group of about 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.
Mr Moore had been working for American management consultancy Bearingpoint when he was kidnapped, while the other men were contractors employed to guard him.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the revelation of apparently violent deaths some time ago is a bitter blow to all the families who are still awaiting news of the three remaining hostages.