Criticism mounted today over a wall US troops are building around a Sunni enclave surrounded by Shiite areas in Baghdad, with residents calling it “collective punishment”.

"I CAME because I have never had a chance to vote in my life. This is a big opportunity for Iraqis," said Khalid Ibrahim, spokesman for the Iraqi Human Rights Organisation in Ireland after he had flown from Dublin to Glasgow to vote yesterday.

IRAQIS in Ireland last night celebrated the capture of Saddam Hussein with a public demonstration and parties at various venues across the country.