US journalist found dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An American freelance journalist was found dead in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the US Embassy said today.

Police said Steven Vincent had been shot multiple times after he and his Iraqi translator were abducted at gunpoint hours earlier.

''I can confirm to you that officials in Basra have recovered the body of journalist Steven Vincent," said embassy spokesman Pete Mitchell.

Iraqi police in Basra said Vincent was abducted along with his female translator at gunpoint last evening. The translator, Nour Weidi, was seriously wounded.

Vincent was the author of a book on postwar Iraq and was researching another book about the history of Basra, Reuters reported.

An opinion piece he wrote criticizing the rise of Shi'ite Islamist fundamentalism in Basra was published in The New York Times four days ago, Reuters said.