By Richard Pyle
Associated Press
NEW YORK – Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was taken hostage a month ago by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, is dead, the State Department said Thursday.
“Our embassy in Pakistan has confirmed today that they have received evidence that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is dead. We have informed Mr. Pearl’s family and expressed our sincere condolences.”
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher provided no details on the evidence. Two U.S. officials said, however, the FBI had obtained a videotape purportedly showing Pearl being killed, and is evaluating the tape’s authenticity. The officials said spoke on condition of anonymity.
The State Department condemned the killing.
“The murder of Mr. Pearl is an outrage and we condemn it. Both the United States and Pakistan are committed to identifying all the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice,” Boucher said. “We will continue to work closely with Pakistani authorities, who had made every effort to locate and free Mr. Pearl.”
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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