BAGHDAD, Aug 31: A militant Iraqi group said on Tuesday it had killed 12 Nepal hostages and showed pictures of one being beheaded and others being shot dead, the worst mass killing of captives since a wave of kidnappings erupted in April.

The announcement of the killings, made in a statement posted on a Web site, came as France intensified its efforts to save two reporters held hostage by a separate group as a deadline set by their captors neared.

The Nepalese were kidnapped two weeks ago when they entered Iraq to work as cooks and cleaners for a Jordanian firm. The killing of men from a tiny country that has had nothing to do with the occupation of Iraq will send shock waves through foreign companies doing business here. -Reuters