Saddam Hussein's trial on charges of genocide against the Kurds on Thursday resumed after a two-hour delay due to a security alert at the venue in the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone.
Defense lawyers spent two hours Thursday trying to enter the Green Zone after sniffer dogs near the Rashid Hotel access to the area detected something. According to the AP, the area was "locked down for a potential device, one of the dogs sat down", signalling a possible suspect device, said US spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver.
The trial eventually started with all seven defendants in court, including Saddam who on Tuesday had written a note to the judge to be excused from the trial, as well as a number of the defense lawyers.
The witness testimony started immediately with another doctor working with the Kurdish guerrilla forces at the time describing what he called the first poison gas attack by Iraqi forces under the Saddam regime. At first, "it was not a bad smell ... it smelt like flowers," the doctor told the court. "After some time I went back to my village and saw dozens of women and children walking with their eyes red, many were vomiting blood."
On Wednesday, Bakhtiar Hama Said Hama described how the Iraqi army searched their village for people hiding from the authorities, detaining some and executing others. "They arrested four detainees who were executed in the stadium," the witness said. "They executed them in front of the people after gathering everyone around."
10 US soldiers dead
Ten U.S. troops died in Iraq on Wednesday. The U.S. military said in a statement that 10 Americans had died in four separate incidents but gave no further details. In addition to the 10 casualties, the U.S. command said two American troops were killed Sunday in Baghdad and a Navy sailor were killed in Anbar province on Monday.
The latest deaths raised to at least 30 the number of U.S. troops who have died this month. At least 69 troops died in November and 105 soldiers were killed in October.
A total of at least 75 people were killed or found dead across Iraq on Wednesday, including 48 whose bullet-riddled bodies were found in different parts of the capital.
