An American civilian who was beheaded in a grisly video posted on an al-Qaeda-linked Web site was never in US custody despite claims from his family, an American spokesman said tonight.
The body of Nicholas Berg, 26, was found Saturday near a highway overpass in Baghdad, the same day he was decapitated, a US official said.
Unanswered questions remained about Berg in the days before he vanished, as well as where and when he was abducted.
Berg, who was Jewish, spoke to his parents March 24th and told them he would return home on March 30th, according to his family in suburban Philadelphia.
But Berg was detained by Iraqi police at a checkpoint in Mosul on March 24th. He was turned over to US officials and detained for 13 days, the family said.
His father, Michael, said his son was not allowed to make phone calls or contact a lawyer.
Coalition spokesman Mr Dan Senor told reporters that Berg was detained by Iraqi police in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The Iraqis informed the Americans, and the FBI questioned him three times about what he was doing in Iraq.
Mr Senor said that to his knowledge Berg "was at no time under the jurisdiction or detention of coalition forces."
Mr Michael Berg told The Associated Press, however, that US officials were "playing word games."
"The Iraqi police do not tell the FBI what to do. The FBI tells the Iraqi police what to do. Who do they think they're kidding?" Mr Berg said.
FBI agents visited Berg's parents March 31st and told the family they were trying to confirm their son's identity.
On April 5th, the Bergs filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia, contending their son was being held illegally by the US military. The next day, Berg was released. He told his parents he had not been mistreated.
Berg's father blamed the US government for creating circumstances that led to his son's death, saying if his son had not been detained for so long, he might have been able to leave Iraq before the violence worsened.
"I think a lot of people are fed up with the lack of civil rights this thing has caused," Mr Berg said. "I don't think this administration is committed to democracy."
Asked for details about Berg's last weeks in Iraq, Mr Senor replied: "We are obviously trying to piece all this together, and there's a thorough investigation." He said he was reluctant to release details but did not say why.
"The US government is committed to a very thorough and robust investigation to get to the bottom of this," Mr Senor said, adding that "multiple" US agencies would be involved and that the FBI would probably have overall direction.
Mr Senor said that in Iraq, Berg had no affiliation with the US government, the coalition or "to my knowledge" any coalition-affiliated contractor. But Mr Senor would not specify why Iraqi police, who generally take direction from coalition authorities, had arrested him and held him.
Police in Mosul "suspected that he was engaged in suspicious activities," Senor said, refusing to elaborate. Berg was released April 6thnd advised to leave the country, Mr Senor added.