Bigley: Gaddafi to help

2004-10-03 19:39

London - Members of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's family have pledged to support efforts to free British hostage Kenneth Bigley, his brother claims.

Paul Bigley said Gaddafi's London-based son Saif had contacted the Libyan leader to urge him to use his contacts in the Middle East to broker the 62-year-old's release, Sky News reports.

The news came as two bodies, one a man with a severed head, the other a woman who had been shot, were found early on Sunday south of Baghdad.

An Iraqi national guard spokesperson said they were both Iraqis and the foreign office in London has confirmed that the male body was not Ken Bigley.

A spokeswoman said: "We have heard from the Iraqi health ministry who said the body was that of a 35-year-old Iraqi man." Paul Bigley said news of the discovery of a body in Iraq had been worrying.

However, he added that the family have been felling very positive following the recent release of other hostages.

He said: "We just have to keep hoping and try to remain confident that Kenneth will come home safe."

"It is worrying to hear about the discovery of bodies, but the family have felt more positive following the release of other hostages." He revealed that he contacted Saif Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's second eldest son, after a number was passed on from an English journalist.

"Saif said he had heard about the situation and asked what he could do," said Paul Bigley. "I said `Why don't you give your dad a call?' and he promised he would.

"Not long afterwards I had a call from the Gaddafi Foundation in Libya, who have pledged to do all they can to help us. They said they would do their very, very best."

- News24