Shiites lead Iraq's parliamentary election
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-20 09:22

By comparison, the United Iraqi Alliance received less than 8 percent in Saddam's home province of Salahuddin, where 89 percent of the ballot boxes were counted. Allawi garnered about 10 percent. Most of the rest went to Sunni Arab groups.

The elections played a role in the release from prison of the 24 or 25 officials from Saddam's government, said Badee Izzat Aref, the Iraqi lawyer who made the announcement.

"The release was an American-Iraqi decision and in line with an Iraqi government ruling made in December 2004, but hasn't been enforced until after the elections in an attempt to ease the political pressure in Iraq," Aref said.

Among the freed inmates were Rihab Taha, a British-educated biological weapons expert, who was known as "Dr. Germ" for her role in making bio-weapons in the 1980s, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as "Mrs. Anthrax," a former top Baath Party official and biotech researcher, a legal official in Baghdad said.

Ammash was number 39, or the five of hearts on America's most-wanted deck of cards list. She was captured on May 9, 2003.

"Because of security reasons, some of them want to leave the country," he said. He declined to elaborate, but noted "some have already left Iraq today."

Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, would say only that eight individuals formerly designated as high-value detainees were released Saturday after a board process found they were no longer a security threat and no charges would be filed against them.

Neither the U.S. military or Iraqi officials would disclose any of the names, but the legal official in Baghdad said Taha and Ammash were among those released.

The official, who asked not to be identified because of fear of retribution from former Baathists, said those released also included Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the weapons inspections directorate, and Aseel Tabra, an Iraqi Olympic Committee official under Odai Saddam Hussein, the former leader's son.

The violent protests over gas prices came after the Cabinet raised the prices of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas on Sunday to curb a growing black market.

The price of a liter of imported and super gasoline was raised to 17 cents, which is a fivefold increase from previous prices. There are about 3.8 liters in a gallon, meaning the new price is about 65 cents a gallon.

The price of locally produced gasoline was raised about sevenfold to about 12 cents per liter, or about 46 cents a gallon.

Huda Ammash, nicknamed "Mrs Anthrax" is seen on a deck of playing cards in this file picture provided by the U.S. Defense Department on April 11, 2003. [Reuters/file]

In Amarah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, police fired into the air to disperse hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the provincial government headquarters.

The demonstrators, however, did not leave, and some scuffled with police. Protesters also briefly blocked the main road between Amarah, Basra and Baghdad.

Drivers blocked roads and burned tires near fuel stations in the southern city of Basra, and hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated outside the governor's headquarters to protest the price increases.

In Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, about 500 people demonstrated against the price hikes, giving a letter of protest to the city council to hand over to Cabinet ministers.