BAGHDAD - U.S.
forces in Iraq are freeing "Dr Germ and "Mrs.
Anthrax," two of Saddam Hussein's leading biological
warfare experts, following the failure to find
weapons of mass destruction, lawyers said on Monday.
The two weapons experts, British-trained
microbiologist Rihab Taha and U.S.-educated genetic
engineer Huda Ammash, were captured by U.S. forces
in May 2003 after Saddam was ousted.
The women admitted working on Saddam's biological
and germ warfare projects but said such weapons were
destroyed long before the U.S. invasion.
Baghdad lawyer Badia Aref said Taha and Ammash were
among 26 senior detainees in the process of being
released. U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel
Barry Johnson said eight "high-value detainees" had
been freed on Saturday, and were among 27 senior
prisoners judged to be eligible for release.
The U.S. State Department said Taha was released
because U.S. forces could not justify keeping her as
a security threat. "Her internment was no longer
necessary for imperative reasons of security," State
Department spokesman Justin Higgins said.
"She has been fully screened. We do not believe she
is linked to terrorists or other violent actors in
Iraq."
Reuters |
Doctor Huda Ammash, known as 'Mrs. Anthrax' speaks
to the press in this 2002 file picture taken in
Baghdad. U.S. forces in Iraq are freeing 'Dr. Germ'
and 'Mrs. Anthrax', two of Saddam Hussein's leading
biological warfare experts, following the failure to
find weapons of mass destruction, lawyers said on
Monday.
Photo: Reuters |
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