DUBAI, Aug 11: A website used by militants carried a video on Wednesday purporting to show militants beheading a "CIA agent" in Iraq. The four-minute long footage showed a Western-looking man sitting on a chair surrounded by armed masked men.

One of the men struck the captive's neck repeatedly with a sword, severing his head. A militant later held up the severed head for the camera. An Arabic sign placed around the man's neck identified him as a "CIA agent".

The video, which could not be immediately authenticated, showed what seemed to be the captive's picture identification card with the caption "visitor". The website did not say which group issued the video, nor did the masked men identify themselves or make any political statements as previous kidnappers in Iraq had. -AFP