Hoax beheading draws FBI probe

The video, which appeared on a website used by Islamic militants, showed Vanderford appealing to the US to leave Iraq. The format was that used by Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and was introduced by a headline that said it showed Zarqawi killing an American. ‘‘If we don’t (leave Iraq), everyone is gonna be killed … I have been offered for exchange for prisoners here in Iraq,’’ Vanderford says in the video, rocking back and forth in his chair, his hands tied behind his back.

The video showed a hand with a large knife apparently slicing the neck of a limp body. But the blood was dye, the setting was a friend’s garage, the Koran reading was a tape and the knife was held by a friend. Mutilated bodies and sound effects were edited in from photos on websites and the video was blurred to make it seem amateur, Vanderford said.

He said his video was made and posted on the web about three months ago, intended as an experiment into how quickly such items spread on the Internet. He was surprised at how long it took. ‘‘It is unfortunate that it had to be the type of video that was offensive and shocking, but it was necessary to see how quickly such things would spread,’’ he said. — (Reuters)