Kidnapped aid worker blindfolded and shot

The British government concluded Tuesday that Margaret Hassan, a British-Iraqi relief official who worked on behalf of poor Iraqis for more than 20 years, was probably killed by kidnappers who seized her in Baghdad a month ago.  The abduction of Hassan, 59, had provoked outrage among Iraqis. Hassan had remained in the country in support of humanitarian efforts during and after the U.S. invasion, defying risks that led most aid organizations to withdraw from Iraq. British officials reported Hassan's likely death after studying a videotape provided by al-Jazeera television in which a blindfolded woman was shot in the head at point-blank range. The satellite network, based in Qatar, declined to broadcast the execution. [more] and [more]