Two British hostages whose bodies were flown home from Iraq last week are thought to have been shot dead, a coroner has said.
Inquests into the deaths of security guards Jason Swindlehurst, 38, and Jason Creswell, 39, are likely to be opened next week, a spokesman for the Wiltshire Coroner said.
He said post-mortem examinations had yet to be concluded but added that it was likely that the men had died from gunshot wounds.
"They had suffered gunshot wounds," he said. "I can't deny that the likelihood is that they died from gunshot wounds."
The spokesman said the families of the two men were being kept informed of developments.
Mr Creswell, originally from Glasgow, and Mr Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, were among a group of five Britons kidnapped in Baghdad on May 29, 2007.
A group of 40 armed men wearing police uniforms seized the hostages, including IT consultant Peter Moore, from Lincoln, and two guards identified only as Alan from Scotland and Alec from South Wales, at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in the capital.
Three other British hostages are still missing in Iraq.
The coroner's spokesman said it was not yet known when Mr Swindlehurst and Mr Creswell were killed.
"It's obviously a question that the family would like answered but, because of all the procedures in place, it would be difficult to confirm a time estimate at this precise moment," he said.
