Washington - Two Brits take hostage in Iraq more than two years ago are believed to be dead, British Foreign Minister David Miliband said Wednesday.

Miliband said Britain's Foreign Office had informed the families of Alec MacLachlan and Alan McMenemy on July 20 that credible information suggested it was "very likely that their loved ones were dead."

MacLachlan and McMenemy were among five British citizens taken by dozens of armed men wearing police uniforms in Baghdad on May 29, 2007. The bodies of two of the hostages were returned to Britain last month, and the fate of the fifth, Peter Moore, remains unknown.

"We call, as the hostages' families did today, in an incredibly dignified way, for the release of Peter Moore and for final clarity about the fate of Alec and Alan," Miliband said, reiterating the British position of not cutting deals with hostage takers.

The five hostages were working in Iraq, one as an IT consultant and the other four as security guards. They were believed to have been seized by a group calling itself the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq, suspected of having the backing of Iran.

The militants were reported to have demanded the release of a number of men held in US custody. The release of leading Shiite insurgent Laith al-Khazali by US forces on June 6 had sparked fresh hopes the Britons could be freed.(dpa)