Saddam officials on trial for dissident slaying
BAGHDAD — Former foreign minister Tariq Aziz and seven other members of Saddam Hussein’s regime are facing charges of planning the slaying of an Iraqi opposition leader in Beirut in 1994.
The trial that opened Sunday also includes Iraq’s former intelligence chief and other top officials in Saddam’s government. They are accused of plotting the killing of Tabib al-Suhail in Lebanon’s capital.
Aziz was the international face of Saddam’s regime for years. He already has been convicted and sentenced to prison terms in the killings of Iraqi merchants and the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
BAGHDAD (AP) — A fuel tanker exploded Sunday near a checkpoint outside of Baghdad International Airport, Iraqi officials said, along a route once known as the world’s deadliest road because of frequent attacks there during the height of the insurgency.
There were conflicting reports about the cause of the explosion, which wounded at least five guards at the checkpoint.
A police official said a bomb attached to the tanker detonated at the checkpoint on the four-lane road leading to the airport. But airport spokesman Kareem al-Timini said the explosion was an accident that was caused when the driver started a fire on the side of the road.
“It was a fire the driver set to cook his breakfast,” he said.
No fatalities were reported.
The explosion caused four other tankers to catch fire, al-Timini and the police official said.
The tanker caught fire at a checkpoint that also leads to Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters next to the airport.
Al-Timini said the tanker was part of a fuel convoy on its way to the American base.
But Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Piper, a military spokesman, denied the truck was part of a U.S. convoy or that it was headed to Camp Victory. He said it was headed to the airport.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
“We have conflicting reports on the cause,” Piper said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “Eyewitness reports said it was due to the driver cooking under the truck.”
He also said there were reports of a roadside bomb, though no U.S. bomb disposal personnel were requested.
The police official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The road, dubbed “Route Irish” by the U.S. military, connects the fortified Green Zone with the airport. It gained notoriety after the 2003 U.S.-lead invasion because of the frequent attacks along it during the height of the insurgency.
Attacks along the road all but stopped during the past two years as violence declined dramatically in Iraq.
Also Sunday, Iraqi police announced one al-Qaida-linked fugitive was killed and another was arrested in a raid just west of Samarra, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south from where they made a stunning jailbreak late last month.
The two were among five al-Qaida prisoners who had been sentenced to death to break out of a makeshift jail in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit. The arrest brings to at least nine the number of prisoners recaptured.
The one fugitive killed Sunday was resisting arrest, a police official said.
That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The escape was an embarrassment for Iraqi authorities as they struggle to upgrade detention facilities before absorbing thousands more inmates from U.S. forces by next year.
An official in the office of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraq is looking for a country to accept 36 detained members of an Iranian opposition group.
The announcement was the first clear signal from the government on its plans for the men, who were arrested in a raid on their camp in northern Iraq in July and have been ordered released by Iraq’s chief prosecutor. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The official said the detainees would not be sent to Iran, where they would likely face arrest, but Iraq is seeking to send them to a third country. The official gave no other details or specific timetable.
The men were moved to Baghdad last week from Diyala Province, northeast of the capital. They are members of a resistance group, the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, which claims many of the men are severely weakened from a hunger strike to protest their detention.
Iraqi judicial authorities did not pursue charges against the men after their detention.
The group operated for years in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, but nearly 3,500 members have been confined to a camp since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S. military turned over responsibility for Camp Ashraf to the Iraqis on Jan. 1.
Associated Press Writer Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.
Related News
Iraqi city of Tikrit locked down after prison break, authorities search for fugitivesSeptember 24th, 2009 Iraqi city locked down after prison breakBAGHDAD — Iraqi officials say about 15 prisoners have escaped from a prison in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and authorities have locked down the city as they search for fugitives. Iraqi military spokesman Maj.
Iraq says talks with Syria over recent spate of bombings have failed over extradition demandSeptember 16th, 2009 Iraqi official: Talks with Syria over attacks failBAGHDAD, Iraq — Talks between Iraq and Syria over Iraqi charges that Damascus is harboring militants involved in deadly bombings in Baghdad have failed and will not be repeated, the Iraqi government spokesman said on Wednesday. The talks in Ankara, Turkey, aimed at easing tensions between the two neighbors collapsed after Syria refused to accept a list of people Iraq wants extradited for their alleged involvement in a recent spate of bombings, including an Aug.
Suicide car bomb near western Iraqi city of Ramadi kills 8 at checkpointSeptember 7th, 2009 Car bomb at checkpoint in western Iraq kills 8BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber targeted a line of vehicles stopped at a checkpoint in western Iraq on Monday, killing eight people and wounding 16, police and hospital officials said. The car exploded as vehicles were waiting to be inspected before crossing a bridge near the provincial capital of Ramadi, a police officer said.
Car bomb near western Iraqi city of Ramadi kills 7, wounds 14September 7th, 2009 Car bomb at checkpoint in western Iraq kills 7BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber targeted a line of vehicles stopped at a checkpoint in western Iraq on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 14, police and hospital officials said. The car exploded as vehicles were waiting to be inspected before crossing a bridge near the provincial capital of Ramadi, a police officer said.
Iranians, Iraqis mourn death of influential Iraqi Shiite leader who died of lung cancerAugust 27th, 2009 Iranians, Iraqis mourn death of Shiite leaderTEHRAN, Iran — Thousands of people in Iran flocked to a mourning ceremony to show their respects to the influential Iraqi Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who died Wednesday in Tehran. The ceremony Thursday held at the Iraqi Embassy in Tehran was attended by many Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as well as hundreds of Iraqi expatriates.
Iraqi foreign ministry summons Syrian diplomat in row over suspected bomb plottersAugust 26th, 2009 Iraq summons Syrian diplomat in Baghdad over bombsBAGHDAD — Iraq's foreign ministry summoned a senior Syrian diplomat in Baghdad Wednesday amid a diplomatic row over Iraqi demands for the extradition of two suspected bomb plotters. The Iraqi government — under heavy criticism for security lapses that allowed suicide truck bombers to get close to key government institutions — has blamed a Syria-based alliance of Saddam Hussein loyalists known as Baathists and al-Qaida in Iraq for the Aug.
Saddam Hussein's FBI interrogation files reveal 'almost' allJuly 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's interrogations by the FBI, after his capture in December 2003, have been released in form of transcripts, revealing some of the last thoughts of the Iraqi dictator. During 20 formal interviews and at least five "casual conversations" over a four-month period from February to May 2004, Saddam said he had made a mistake in destroying Baghdad's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) without independent verification from UN inspectors, the Independent reports.
Saddam 'bluffed' about WMD's out of mortal fear of Iranian attack, reveals FBI fileJune 25th, 2009 NEW YORK - A secret FBI file has revealed that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had feared an Iranian attack on his country, more than a US one. The secret file claims that Saddam had bluffed about his country's 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' fearing an Iranian assault.
Iraqi leaders rally after murder of Sunni lawmaker, vow no return to sectarian warJune 13th, 2009 Iraqi leaders rally after murder of Sunni lawmakerBAGHDAD — The government Saturday blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for killing a prominent Sunni lawmaker as leaders across the sectarian divide rallied together, deploring the murder and pledging to prevent a new wave of religious violence that once plunged the country to the brink of civil war. Harith al-Obeidi, leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, and his bodyguard were shot dead Friday as they left a Baghdad mosque after prayers.
Michigan man gets nearly 4 years for admitted he aided Iraq before the US-led invasionJune 9th, 2009 Mich. man who spied for Iraq gets nearly 4 yearsDETROIT — A judge in Michigan has sentenced a man to nearly four years in prison for supplying information to Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds rejected a claim by Najib (Na-JEEB') Shemami (shuh-MAH'-mee) that he was under duress by the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi accused in 2004 kidnap-slaying of British aid worker sentenced to lifeJune 2nd, 2009 Iraqi gets life sentence for Briton's kidnap deathBAGHDAD — An Iraqi man accused in the 2004 kidnapping and slaying of British aid worker Margaret Hassan has been sentenced to life in prison. The judge convicted and handed down the sentence against Ali Lutfi al-Rawi Tuesday in an Iraqi court in Baghdad.
Mass grave of 100 Kurdish bodies uncovered in IraqMay 13th, 2009 BAGHDAD - A mass grave of around 100 Kurdish bodies has been discovered in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaneya, the Buratha news agency reported Wednesday. The discovery came following a tip received by Iraqi intelligence indicating the site of the grave, according to Fadel al-Sagheer, head of the human rights office in the city.
Saddam relatives, admirers mark his birthday with anti-Bush chants by his grave in IraqApril 28th, 2009 Iraqis mark Saddam's birthday with anti-US chantsBAGHDAD — Relatives and supporters of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein are marking his birthday with tributes in his native village, laying wreaths by his grave and chanting slogans against former President George W. Bush. Saddam would have turned 72 on Tuesday.
Correction: Iraq Rape Slaying storyApril 25th, 2009 Correction: Iraq Rape Slaying storyLOUISVILLE, Ky. — In initial versions of an April 24 story about federal prosecutors seeking to compel witnesses to testify in the trial of an ex-soldier, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Sgt.
Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' gets his third death sentenceMarch 3rd, 2009 BAGHDAD - The Iraqi High Tribunal Monday sentenced former senior Iraqi official Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali, to death for his role in the 1999 crackdown on Shia Iraqis following the killing of prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's supporters blame the intelligence agencies of the former regime of Saddam Hussein for his death.
Loading ...