By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government on Wednesday released from prison a top Saddam Hussein loyalist after he was cleared of charges of helping the former regime punish opponents by draining the country's fabled marshlands.Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad was No. 54 of 55 on a former US military list of most-wanted Saddam officials. He was a Baath Party regional chairman and militia commander from Anbar Province.A spokesman for the Iraqi High Tribunal, Judge Mohammed Abdul-Sahib Yaseen, said Wednesday that Muhammad was recently released from a prison just outside Baghdad. He gave no details.Muhammad was captured in January 2004.
Death toll from Afghanistan floods rises to 315, Taliban ministry says