Severed Fingers of Kidnapped Westerners In Iraq Sent to U.S. Officials

March 13, 2008

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Severed fingers of five Western hostages captured in Iraq reportedly were sent to U.S. government officials, giving the men’s relatives hope that they are still alive, a brother of one of the missing men said.

The Austrian weekly magazine News first reported the delivery of the five fingers in Wednesday’s edition, citing unidentified authorities working on the case.

Patrick Reuben, a Minneapolis police officer whose twin brother, Paul Reuben, is among the missing, said late Wednesday the FBI told his family members that “the fingers were confirmed to be those of the hostages.”

Patrick Reuben told The Associated Press the news of the severed fingers was “shocking,” but that the initial word the family got was “much more serious than that. Later on we found that it was fingers that were recovered and that the DNA confirmed it was the hostages.”

In a statement Wednesday, the FBI declined to confirm the men had been identified by fingers.

“The FBI has received DNA evidence and is conducting an examination,” spokesman Richard Kolko said. “We understand this is a very difficult time for the families and discussing this matter further in the media is not appropriate.”

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