June 18 (Bloomberg) -- The body of Paul Johnson, the American hostage beheaded by terrorists inside Saudi Arabia, has been found in the capital Riyadh, the Associated Press reported.

A video released earlier this week by the kidnappers showed Johnson blindfolded and demanded any suspected al-Qaeda terrorism suspects be released within 72 hours. The message was signed in the name of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. was still waiting on final confirmation of the murder from the Saudi government. Johnson worked on Apache AH-64 helicopters for Lockheed Martin Corp. inside Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia will ``redouble our efforts to go after terrorists wherever they are, wherever they're trying to hide, and to go after those who support this kind of terrorist activity,'' Powell said in Washington.

(AP 6-18)

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Zeranski in New York at tzeranski@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 18, 2004 15:27 EDT