Iraq scientist jail death inquiry

News of Mr Izmerly's death followed abuse claims at Abu Ghraib jail

The US army has opened an investigation into the death of an Iraqi scientist who died in US custody.

Questions have surrounded the death of 65-year-old Mohammad Munim al-Izmerly since his body was left at a Baghdad hospital in February 2004.

An autopsy commissioned by his family concluded that Mr Izmerly - who was not on the list of prisoners most wanted by the US - died from a blow to the head.

The US army has not said what prompted the inquiry, nor given any details.

An army spokesman said the Pentagon had an "ongoing investigation" into Mr Izmerly's death, but gave no timetable for its completion.

'Blunt trauma injury'

The US death certificate cited "brain stem compression" as the cause of death, the UK's Guardian newspaper said after seeing the document, but gave no further explanation.

The Iraqi doctor who carried out the post- mortem examination for Mr Izmerly's family told the Los Angeles Times: "It was definitely a blunt trauma injury". He added that a likely cause was a blow to the head or a fall from a height.

News of the scientist's death was first reported in May last year, shortly after allegations emerged of prisoner abuse at the US-run Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.

The US did not open an investigation at that time.

Details about the role Mr Izmerly may have played in Iraq's weapons programme under former leader Saddam Hussein remain unclear.

He was taken into US custody in April 2003 and held by the military for nine months in an unknown location.

The scientist's family was told in February 2004 by the International Committee of the Red Cross that Mr Izmerly had died more than two weeks earlier.