Exasperated, besieged by global pressure, Saddam Hussein and top aides searched for ways in the 1990s to prove to the world they had given up banned weapons, according to newly-released documents.

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.

TWO leading figures in Saddam Hussein’s former regime are now in custody after one was captured and the other surrendered.

Deadly shootings in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul underscored the difficulties still faced by Iraqis and US-led coalition troops seeking to restore order in the country, although the worst of the fighting might be over.