The families of five British men kidnapped in Baghdad are waiting for the results of tests on human remains passed to British diplomats in Iraq.It is not yet clear whether they are the bodies of two of the men, who were seized by gunmen in May 2007.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was a "terrible moment of uncertainty and fear" for relatives.
Scientists will try to identify the two people and establish how and when they died, which seems to be some time ago.
The BBC correspondent Jim Muir, in Baghdad, said: "From what we've heard we can assume that these people had been dead for some time, and that is why it's going to be quite difficult to identify them."
The bodies were at Baghdad Airport, which could mean they are going to be flown to the UK for the forensic tests to be carried out, he added.
The five contractors were seized by about 40 armed men wearing police uniforms at the Iraqi Finance Ministry.
Little is known about the identities of the men because of a media blackout during a large period of their captivity, at the request of the hostage-takers.
One of the men is Peter Moore, an IT consultant from Lincoln who was working in Iraq for BearingPoint, an American management consultancy.
The four other men, understood to be named Jason, who has family in Aberdeen, Alan, from Dumbarton, another Jason and Alec, were Mr Moore's security guards, employed by the Canadian security firm GardaWorld.
The militants have released various videos of the captives. The first asked for British troops to withdraw from Iraq, the second demanded the release of nine Iraqi militants and the third claimed one of the guards had killed himself.
The captors are a group called the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq.
Security experts understood there had been positive diplomatic moves behind the scenes to free them, including the release of a prisoner whose freedom was being demanded by the hostage-takers.
Mr Miliband said: "We have never speculated on the outcome of this case although we have been working intensively on it, so the overriding feeling today is one of deep sadness and fear.
"Our immediate thoughts are clearly with the families of the five Britons taken hostage in Baghdad in May 2007.
"As would be the case with any development of this kind, they will fear the worst for their loved ones.
"This is terrible moment of uncertainty and fear for them."
Mr Miliband called for the immediate safe release of the remaining hostages.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and dismayed" by the news.
The mother of one of the guards, Alec from south Wales, said: "We are anxious about the situation, yes.
"We have heard nothing new from the Foreign Office, but we are hoping for the best."
Joe Gavaghan, a spokesman for the security company GardaWorld which employed the four guards, said families were not giving up hope.
He said: "The announcement is very concerning. We are certainly not giving up hope that Peter and our four security people are still alive."
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source: news.bbc.co
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