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Journalism of Courage
Saddam Hussein could go on trial for crimes against humanity within two months, Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani said in an interview on CNN on Tuesday. Iraqi prosecutors and their US advisers say a trial is more likely in 2006, after some of Saddam’s lieutenants have been tried, to help build the case against Saddam.
In Washington, US President George W. Bush said in a news conference at the White House that despite mounting casualties in Iraq, he was “pleased with the progress’’ made.
In the latest losses for US-led forces in Iraq, four Italians, four Americans and an Iraqi were killed in two aircraft crashes, officials said. A six-seater Iraqi Air Force plane crashed 150 km northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing four US Air Force personnel and an Iraqi pilot, Iraq’s Defence Ministry said. Overnight, an Italian military helicopter crashed outside the southern city of Nassiriya as it returned from Kuwait, killing the two pilots and two gunners.
In Baghdad, Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari condemned the arrest by US troops of senior Sunni politician Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party. He said he had demanded an explanation from the top American general in Iraq for the 12-hour detention, which the military has said was a mistake.
Jordinian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi sent a message to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden saying he suffered only ‘‘minor wounds’’, denying reports he was seriously hurt, according to an audio tape attributed to him. ‘‘I think news has reached your ears… that I was seriously wounded… I would like to assure you… that these are baseless rumours,’’ said the speaker. In connection with this, a US intelligence official said on Tuesday: ‘‘We believe the tape is authentic.’’ He who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In Iraq’s Anbar province, kidnapped provincial governor Raja Nawaf was found dead along with his militant captors on Tuesday. —Reuters
