Iraq: A tour of Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison some 35 kilometres west of the city was yesterday's main media event. The prison, built before the ousted regime came to power, became a symbol of its brutality.
Located at the edge of the Abu Ghraib agricultural area, the dun-coloured block wall blends into the desert floor. Relatives of detainees hover outside the sandbagged gate where an armoured scout car stands guard.
Just inside the wall is a compound composed of two stacked rolls of concertina wire, a delicate web armed with small sharp razors, enclosing tents for the temporary accommodation of prisoners now being held there.
The press was briefed by Gen Janis Karpinski, commander of the US 800 Military Police Brigade based in Long Island, New York, and now in charge of all Iraq's prisons. She said her troops, both regulars and reserves, were manning facilities which had been made serviceable after the war.
About 5,000 Iraqis are currently being detained, 75 per cent in the criminal category. Of these only 200 are prisoners of war. The majority of those belonging to this category have been released on parole, after pledging not to commit any offences against US and allied forces.
Political detainees are of two types, irregulars who fought the US and British troops and high-ranking officials and military officers who are being held for interrogation and investigation to determine whether they committed any crimes while in power.
The tour took in rooms formerly used as torture chambers where some crude instruments have been put on display. Total refurbishment was necessary because the prison was systematically looted when President Saddam Hussein released all prisoners, both criminals and politicals, last November.
During looting following the war, all the records of prisoners were destroyed, making it impossible for the US military police to learn whether detainees were first-time or repeat offenders. As we left the prison compound, dust rising round us, a small group of prisoners came to the wire holding up a sign in English written on a flattened cardboard box: "We want Freedom."
Meanwhile US special forces have stepped up raids with the aim of finding President Saddam Hussein. Task Force 20 has been roaming the country in search of close associates who may know where he might be.
Four key figures, so far unidentified, were said to have been captured on Friday at Tikrit, President Saddam's home base. A 4th Infantry Division spokeswoman, Maj Josslyn Aberle, said: "It's just a matter of time. He can't stay in one place very long." Two others were seized on Saturday during a raid in Baiji, north of Tikrit.
An authoritative informant from the former ruling Baath party told The Irish Times, "Saddam will be taken in pieces. He has explosives strapped to his body and will detonate them if he is cornered."