US accused of stalling Saddam trial

THE Iraqi justice minister yesterday accused the US of delaying the interrogation of Saddam Hussein.

Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal also said he was confident that Saddam’s trial on war crimes charges would be over by the end of the year, underlining the Iraqi government’s determination to try the ousted leader soon.

“This trial will be accomplished within 2005 - and this will only be in Iraqi courts,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of an international conference on his country’s future.