The head of American hostage Paul Johnson, who was kidnapped and beheaded in Saudi Arabia last month, was found today by security forces during a raid on a hideout that left two militants dead.
The Interior Ministry said the head was found in a freezer in an apartment but the rest of the body was not there.
Johnson, a 49-year-old engineer who had worked in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade, was kidnapped on June 12 in Riyadh by militants who followed through on a threat to kill him if the kingdom did not release its al-Qaida prisoners.
An al-Qaida group claiming responsibility posted an Internet message that showed grisly photographs of a beheaded body on June 17. Later, video of the beheading was posted.
Hours after the pictures of the beheading appeared on the internet, Saudi security forces shot and killed Abdulaziz al-Moqrin, alleged mastermind of Johnson 's kidnapping.
Last week, US authorities announced the search for Johnson 's body had been called off.
Johnson 's son in Florida, Paul, 28, had been pressing American officials to do more to find his father's body.
Johnson was an engineer for Lockheed Martin who worked on Apache helicopters. The Saudi Interior Ministry said Johnson 's head was found after a search of one of three locations following last night's raid and gun battle that left two militants dead and three others wounded.
An Interior Ministry official said authorities were holding the wife and three children of Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi, the man believed to be al-Moqrin's successor.
One of the dead militants, identified by the Interior Ministry as Issa Saad Mohammed bin Oushan, is on the Saudi government's list of wanted militants. The
statement did not name the wounded.
Pan-Arab news station have reported that al-Aoofi may be among the casualties. The Saudi Interior Ministry official said three members of the security forces were wounded in the gun battle which erupted when security forces came under "heavy fire" from hand and rocket-propelled grenades while inspecting a residence suspected of being used by militants.
King Fahd last month offered militants amnesty if they turned themselves in before Friday. He said he wouldn't seek the death penalty for those who surrendered.