Nick Berg Beheaded by Terrorist as Payback for Prisoner Abuse

The man sitting on the floor in the orange jumpsuit with his arms bound behind his back and his feet bound together identified himself as Nick berg from Pennsylvania in the U.S. and said a few more words before he fell quiet. Five masked terrorists standing behind Nick then begin speaking in Arabic.

Nick seems oblivious to their words and his obvious fate as he sat calmly and motionlessly on the floor as the men speak in Arabic for the next four and one-half minutes or so.

The low-quality grainy video is thankfully difficult to see, yet hearing Nick’s screams, groans, and grunts tell a much deeper story than our eyes can see.

One of the masked terrorists grabs Nick by the hair, yanking back his head as he forces a machete under his neck and slices. The masked terrorist jerks Nick over onto his side and begins the nearly-one-minute process of decapitating Nick. He never expected decapitating someone to be such a difficult task.

Nick’s blood-curdling screams continually howl from the video.

The last few seconds of Nick Berg’s life must’ve been filled with sheer terror, fear, and pain.

Proud of his work, the terrorist holds up Nick’s head to the camera before laying it on Nick’s body.

Finally, the job is done. American Nicholas Berg is dead, beheaded; an act recorded on video that soon would make its way across the internet

Nick Berg’s Headless Body Found on Baghdad Overpass

U.S. officials found Nick’s body hanging on an overpass in Baghdad on May 8, 2004. While a public announcement of the death was made after the berg family had been notified, officials did not release details of the beheading until several days later when the terrorists posted the recorded video on an Islamic website under the title, “Slaughters American.”

To date, this beheading video ranks as the most searched video of its kind. Searches for variations of the term Nick Berg beheading video dominated the ‘net in the few years following the gruesome murder.

Naive and Full of Hope

Nicholas always seemed naive to the goings-on around him, as evidenced by his decision to travel to the war-torn country in December 2003, just months after the U.S. invaded Iraq. Family, friends, military officials, and other experts advised Nick against traveling to Iraq.; he’d hear none of it.

A stout supporter of the Iraqi invasion, Nick hoped to secure work in the country. He owned a freelance telecommunications company in the U.S. which he wanted to bring to Iraq.

He was briefly detained at a checkpoint during this visit, although was back on the road in no time without incident. Nick excitedly discussed projects with several people, finally securing a freelance contact. Proud of this accomplishment, Nick headed back to the U.S. in February with plans to return the following month.

Arriving back in Iraq on March 14 was disappointing at best. Nick was briefly detained by guards at a checkpoint and then learned the work he had been promised had fallen through.

Nick Stays in Iraq

The US Embassy, military officials, his parents, and many others attempted to help Nick get out of the country right then as they feared the worst; he refused their offers.

Instead, Nick planned to return to the U.S.A. feeling defeated, on March 31. Until then, he had more to discover in Iraq and possibly could secure freelance work after all. Nick rented a room at the El-Fanar Hotel overlooking Tigris Hotel in Baghdad.

Nick frequently spoke to his concerned parents every day until March 24. On this day, Nick was detained at a checkpoint in Mosul. He was detained over the next 13 days, at which time his parents filed a lawsuit in the U.S. claiming Nick was being illegally detained by U.S. forces.

U.S. officials denied they had detained Nick, claiming instead that Iraqi forces were behind the capture. The Bergs would later produce paperwork stating U.S. officials held Nick.

Nick was released from custody on April 7. He spoke with his parents and UN officials several times over the next two days. He claimed that he was not mistreated during the detainment

April 9 would be the very last time the Bergs would ever hear Nick’s voice. He last checked into his hotel on April 10.

It’s unclear exactly when or how Nicholas Berg was kidnapped. He was detained for approximately one month. His body was found on May 8, 2004.

Who Beheaded Nick Berg? The Aftermath

After Islamic terrorists released the video, the CIA claimed Abu Musab al-Zarqaw, a Jordanian Jihidiast responsible for hundreds of suicide bombings and hostage executions, was responsible for the beheading.

The beheading was allegedly in response to an allegation against the U.S. military of abuse and torture of inmates, many POWs, and innocent civilians, at the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prison. U.S. military officials had recently taken the power of the prison from the Taliban.

NBC News reported that four men had been arrested in connection with Berg’s abduction, although two were later released and questioned. Al-Zawib was not among the men arrested.

In August 2004, Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, a leader of the mujahadeen council in Fallujah, took credit for Berg’s murder, claiming he offered Berg during a prisoner exchange with U.S. officials, although they declined his offer.