Four arrested over Hassan murder

US AND Iraqi forces have arrested four people in connection with the murder of the British aid worker Margaret Hassan, officials said yesterday.

The body of the 59-year-old CARE international worker has not been recovered since she was abducted last October.

But "articles" found during a dawn raid on Sunday on an insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad linked those arrested to the murder.

"The raid was part of a sweep by US and Iraqi forces on an area of insurgent and criminal activity," said a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

"US forces alerted UK authorities when articles were found relating to the Margaret Hassan case.

"Mrs Hassan was married to an Iraqi, became a Muslim and adopted dual citizenship.

An official at the British Embassy in Baghdad confirmed a "direct link" between the seized items and the woman.

"Articles were found which established a direct connection to Margaret Hassan, including documentary evidence," the official said.

Suggestions that the items included a purse, woman’s shirts and trousers, and documents bearing the CARE logo and signed by Mrs Hassan, have yet to be confirmed.

Irish-born Mrs Hassan spent nearly half her life delivering food and medicine in Iraq.

She was kidnapped in Baghdad on 19 October last year, and hours later footage showing her bound and distressed was broadcast by Al-Jazeera TV.

Less than a month after the kidnapping, a film of her apparent murder was released.