Saddam Hussein was hospitalised and fed with a tube on the 17th day of a hunger strike to ensure he was healthy enough to continue with his trial, the chief prosecutor said. The procedure came as the ex-leader’s troubled trial nears a verdict that could lead to his hanging.

Doctors in Baghdad are advising Saddam Hussein that refusing food could be bad for his health because the ousted president has not eaten in nearly two weeks, a US military spokesman said today.

Saddam Hussein and three co-defendants are on the 10th day of a hunger strike in Iraq over demands for better security for defence lawyers, but their health remains good.

THE US will close Abu Ghraib prison, probably within three months, and transfer some 4,500 prisoners to other jails in Iraq, a military spokesman said yesterday.