Two Iraqis, nine Iraqis were killed in different clashes in Iraq; Governing council: Saddam's trial will be purely Iraqi
Iraq-USA, Military, 3/11/2004

The rotating president of the Iraqi governing council Muhammad Baher al-Oloum said yesterday that the trial of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will be made inside Iraq by Iraqi judges and in an Iraqi court without foreign intervention.

In a press conference in Baghdad, Baher al-Oloum said "we, in the governing council persist the trial of Saddam Hussein to be an Iraqi one, and to be only attended by Iraqi judges." He added "Our colleagues in the governing council asked to have the trial of Saddam Hussein an Iraqi one, and according to Iraqis judiciary, and this trial not to be interfered by foreign sides."

Baher al-Oloum said, replying to a question on describing him as a prisoner by the occupation forces that "if he was arrested before the end of the war he can be considered as a prisoner of war." He added replying to a question on whether he had met with the US justice secretary delegation currently visiting Iraq to discuss measures that should be pursued to try Saddam:" I did not meet them and such a meeting might be held within the few coming days."

Senior spokesman for the occupation authority in Baghdad, Dan Senior, said that the American administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer met yesterday with the American delegation and explained to it what the special Iraqi court formed to consider " crimes committed by the former regime needs in order to carry out its set tasks."

This team expert is composed of four lawyers from the US justice department and is the first in a series of teams to be sent to Iraq to study addressing accusations to Saddam Hussein.

Senior indicated that those lawyers are technical experts who came to Iraq to give help and they will not take part in future cases. He added that no case of war crime is to be before authority transfer to the Iraqis on June 30.

Meantime, the American army said that armed men installed a false security barrier to the south of Baghdad, killed two American civilians and their Iraqi translator. All of them were working for the occupation authority, in the first incident of its kind in Iraq.

A polish col. said that unidentified gunmen disguised in policemen uniform installed a barrier outside al-Hella city on Tuesday evening, and added that the attackers opened fire at the passengers, the two Americans and the one Iraqi, and stole the car but the Polish forces intercepted the car later and detained the five Iraqis who were on it and the three bodies were found inside. An American spokesman confirmed this story besides handing over the attackers to the American forces.

In al-Qaem near the border with Syria, six gunmen killed six policemen and wounded a third while they have their lunch in one of the city's restaurants before they had escaped.

In Karkouk, one Kurdish official said the Iraqi police detained on Tuesday one official from Ansar al-Islam group in Baghdad called Ayoub al-Afghani and handed him over to the occupation authorities.

One American spokesman said yesterday that unidentified gunmen wounded three American soldiers on Monday in Karkouk. In Baqouba, the spokesman for the higher council of the Islamic revolution, Heitham Husseini, said that a bomb took off before the office of Bader organization in the city resulted in wounding two persons. Al-Husseini blamed supporters of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and terrorists "who try to spread disorder in the country."

Previous Stories:
  Four Iraqis killed in Musil; Baghdad: American soldier killed   (3/10/2004)
  Bremer talks about ' embassies for the occupation after June 30: We withdraw from cemeteries at the request of clergies   (3/6/2004)
  Former UN chief criticized US policy in Iraq   (3/6/2004)
  Two American soldiers wounded, occupation detains five Iraqis   (2/28/2004)
  Al-Seistani accepts the agreement to hand over sovereignty under conditions: end of year elections to be made by UN decision, supervision   (2/27/2004)
  Two Americans killed in a military plane crash, a security official assassinated in al-Musil, mortar attack in al-Qaem   (2/26/2004)

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