A senior Iraqi official has called for the re-arrest of two of
Saddam Hussein's biological weapons experts, released by US forces
earlier this week.
Huda Ammash was educated in the US
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National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubbaie said warrants had been issued for the arrest of Rihab Taha and Huda Ammash.
The pair were among 22 high-ranking Iraqi detainees set free by the US.
They had been accused of running Iraq's bioweapons programme. The US concluded
they had no useful information.
A lawyer for Dr Ammash dismissed the threat to re-arrest
her, saying the Iraqi government had agreed to the release of the
detainees on the condition that they left Iraq.
Mrs Ammash was nicknamed "Mrs Anthrax" by the US, and Mrs Taha was known as "Dr Germ".
Reports have been circulating of a pre-election deal to
free former regime figures in order to appease Iraq's Sunni Arabs,
correspondents say.
Motive
The British-educated Mrs Taha and US-educated Mrs Ammash
had both been accused by the Bush administration of involvement in
Saddam Hussein's banned weapons programme.
Neutralising the threat posed by the former leader's
chemical and biological weapons was cited by the US as its prime motive
for invading Iraq in 2003.
No such weapons have been found since the invasion.
While the US military maintains that only eight figures
from Saddam Hussein's government have been released, an Iraqi official
quoted by the Associated Press news agency said some 24 prisoners had
been set free.
Aseel Tabra, an Iraqi Olympic Committee official and
Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the weapons inspections directorate, are
among those who have been released, according to the official quoted by
the agency.
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