ABOUT 24 top former officials in Saddam Hussein’s regime, including a biological weapons expert known as ‘Dr Germ’, have been released from jail, while a militant group released a video yesterday of the purported killing of an American hostage.

An extremist group posted a video on a website today showing a man it said was an American hostage being shot in the back of the head, and the German government said one of its citizens released by kidnappers was expected to leave Iraq.

An extremist group, the Islamic Army of Iraq, today claimed on a website posting that it had killed an American adviser taken hostage in Iraq, and said it would publicise a video showing the killing.

THE Iraqi Government announced yesterday it will close all borders, extend curfew hours and ban travel across provincial borders as part of stringent security measures to protect voters during this week’s parliamentary elections.

Kidnappers holding four Westerners made no contact with Iraqi authorities today, the day which they had set as a deadline to kill the humanitarian activists unless US and Iraqi authorities release all prisoners they hold in Iraq, the interior ministry said.