イラク戦争

After the statement was finished, the men pulled Berg on his side and thrust a large knife to his neck. A scream sounded as the men cut his head off, repeatedly shouting ''Allahu Akbar!'' - or ''God is great.''

They then held the head out before the camera.

The Bergs, who live the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester, Pa., last heard from their son April 9, the same day insurgents attacked a U.S. convoy west of the capital.

Berg attended Cornell, Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma, where he got involved in rigging electronics equipment while working for the maintenance department, his father said. He helped set up equipment at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in 2000.

While at Cornell, he traveled to Ghana to teach villagers how to make bricks out of minimal material. His father said Berg returned from Ghana emaciated because he gave away most of his food and that the only possessions he had when he returned were the clothes on his back.

Michael Berg said his son saw his trip to Iraq as an adventure that also fit with his desire to help others.

''I would say he was a free spirit, very intelligent,'' said Nick Fillioe, a sports director at the West Chester YMCA. ''He was a real smart guy. He knew a little bit about everything.''

Berg's family said they were informed by the State Department on Monday that he was found dead.