Iraqi authorities hope to file criminal charges against Saddam Hussein and others in the former regime before the June 30 transfer of sovereignty to the new government, a senior official said today.

The US and Saudi-educated head of Iraq’s Governing Council was named as president of the interim government today, after the Americans’ preferred candidate turned down the post.

Iraqi Governing Council members accused American officials of pressuring them to accept Washington’s choice for the country’s new president, delaying the announcement of a new government to take power on June 30.

Differences between the Iraqi Governing Council and US authorities over who should be the country’s new president stalled a final agreement on the make-up of an interim government to take power on June 30.

THE US agreed to suspend offensive operations in Najaf yesterday after Iraqi leaders struck a deal with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end a stand-off threatening some of Iraq’s holiest Shiite shrines.

The US-led coalition agreed today to suspend offensive operations in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf after Shiite leaders struck a deal with rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end the bloody standoff which has threatened some of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines.

Iraq’s governing council has reacted with fury after police backed by American soldiers raided the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent politician once groomed by the Pentagon as a possible replacement for Saddam Hussein.

A young American decapitated on a videotape released this week told friends that he was arrested by Iraqi police in Mosul because he had an Israeli stamp in his passport. The Mosul police chief today denied having arrested him.

AN American civilian who was beheaded in a grisly video posted on an al-Qaida-linked website was never in US custody despite claims from his family, a coalition spokesman said yesterday.

The young American who was decapitated on a videotape posted by an al-Qaida-linked web site was never under US custody despite claims from his family, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said in Baghdad.

US ADMINISTRATOR Paul Bremer first heard of allegations that troops were mistreating Iraqi captives at Abu Ghraib prison in January, a spokesman said yesterday.

Two US soldiers were killed when an explosion levelled part of a Baghdad building as they searched it for suspected production of “chemical munitions”.

The US military extended a ceasefire for Fallujah for at least two more days, backing down from warnings of an all-out US marine assault and announcing that American and Iraqi forces would begin joint patrols in the city.

A 2,500-strong US force, backed by tanks and artillery, massed on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Najaf for a showdown with a radical cleric, raising fears of an assault on the holiest Shi'ite city.

More than 40 hostages from 12 nations are being held captive in Iraq, the US revealed today as four missing Italian security guards and a French journalist added to the total.

Around 40 foreign hostages from 12 countries are currently being held by insurgents in Iraq, and the FBI is involved investigations into the abductions, a coalition spokesman said today.

A US general today called on Sunni militants in Fallujah to join in a ceasefire to allow further negotiations between Iraqi leaders and representatives of the besieged city.

A radical Iraqi cleric was branded an “outlaw” today and the US announced a warrant for his arrest, heightening a confrontation after his supporters clashed with coalition troops in battles that killed more than 60 people.

An Iraqi judge has issued an arrest warrant for a radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, for the murder of another Shi'ite leader.

The top US commander in Iraq cast doubt today on whether Spain would withdraw its troops from Iraq, but added that if they did, the loss would not be “a significant military problem”.

Four American soldiers died in two bomb explosions in Baghdad, the U.S.-led coalition said today.

At least 143 people were killed when simultaneous explosions ripped through crowds of worshippers today at Shiite Muslim shrines in Baghdad and Karbala on the holiest day of the Shiite calendar.

NINE people were killed in an outburst of violence in Iraq, including four Iraqi women driving to jobs at a US military base and two US soldiers.

Nine people were killed in an outburst of violence in Iraq, including four Christian women driving to jobs at a US military base and two American soldiers killed in a mortar barrage.

THE US Army freed scores of Iraqi prisoners yesterday after announcing an amnesty the previous day for low-threat detainees rounded up over the past eight months.

A HUGE explosion destroyed the offices of a major Shi’ite party yesterday as it was revealed that US administrator Paul Bremer escaped a rebel ambush on his convoy two weeks ago.

US officials tonight vowed that the international coalition will not be broken by roadside ambushes that increasingly targeted US allies.