London  - The British government said Wednesday that a body passed to the authorities in Iraq was believed to be one of five men taken hostage in Baghdad just over two years ago.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "deeply saddened" by the news" as urgent investigations were under way to establish the identity of the dead person.

Five British men - computer consultant Peter Moore and four of his bodyguards - were kidnapped in an audacious raid on the Finance Ministry in Baghdad in May 2007.

The men were seized while attending a conference in the building. The more than 40 men involved in the attack were dressed up in police uniforms.

Six weeks ago, the government in London informed the families of security guards Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan that they were "very likely" dead.

The bodies of Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell, had been found and identified earlier.

"The Prime Minister was deeply saddened that a further body, which the Iraqi authorities believe to be one of the British hostages taken in 2007, has been passed to the British embassy in Baghdad."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was not yet possible to "definitively confirm" either that the body was a hostage or which one it was.

However, Moore was still believed to be alive, Miliband said.  dpa