An Iraqi Justice Ministry official has denied that Saddam Hussein has been handed over to Iraqi custody and remains in US custody.

The US military says it will begin moving thousands of prisoners out of Abu Ghraib prison to a new jail near Baghdad’s airport within three months and hand the notorious facility over to Iraqi authorities as soon as possible.

British hostage Kenneth Bigley’s life was tonight in the blood-stained hands of a terrorist who has severed the heads of two other captives.

Two high-profile women prisoners in American custody will not be released immediately, the US embassy said in Baghdad despite an earlier announcement by Iraqi authorities.