U.S. Confirms Johnson's Head Found

CAIRO, Egypt – America has confirmed the head found in Riyadh this week is that of the decapitated hostage Paul M. Johnson (search), the spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said Friday.

"We did see the head on Thursday and have confirmed that it is the head of Paul Johnson, unfortunately," spokeswoman Carol Kalin told The Associated Press in a call from the Saudi capital.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said Wednesday that during a search of a militant hideout in Riyadh (search), their security forces found the severed head of Johnson. But the U.S. Embassy reserved confirmation pending their own identification of the head.

Militants linked to Al Qaeda kidnapped Johnson on June 12 and killed him six days later. The rest of Johnson's body has not been found.