Iraqi Kurds Accused of Spying for Iran

Kurdish witness Asia Tahir Kreit provides eyewitness testimony during the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein inside the heavily fortified Green Zone Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq. Saddam and 6 other defendants are facing charges of crimes against humanity for their roles in the Anfal military operation from 1987-88 that prosecutors say killed thousands of Iraqis. (AP Photo/Scott Nelson, Pool) (Scott Nelson - AP)

On Wednesday, witness Ayoub Abdellah Mohammed said his village was attacked with chemical weapons on Aug. 24, 1988 _ four days after a cease-fire in the war with Iran.

"After this, we had difficulty breathing and I told the villagers that the village was hit by chemical weapons," he said. "I could see birds falling and liquids coming out of people's noses."

Another witness, Tawfeeq Abdul-Aziz Mustafa, said he and other villagers fled to Turkey after a chemical attack on their community and remained there until a Kurdish self-ruled area was established in northern Iraq in 1991.

"We looked at the villages and there was yellow smoke coming out," he said. "Our eyes became red, itchy and teary. We knew it was a chemical attack."

Mustafa said his uncle died in Turkey from the effects of the attack, and he lost about 40 percent of his vision because of exposure to the chemical weapons.

The session opened with a demand from defense lawyer Badee Izzat Aref for the court to order an investigation into the alleged ransacking of the defense team's office in the U.S.-controlled Green Zone last month.

Aref said intruders damaged and stole dozens of documents, undermining the defense's effort in the trial. Chief judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa ordered the prosecution to give a new set of documents to the defense.

"I demand the opening of an investigation on the American side because the area of the offices is guarded by the Americans, who would shoot anybody who comes near," Aref said.

It was the first time that Aref appeared in the court since Sept. 21, when the defense team announced a boycott of the trial to protest the court's rejection of many of their motions.

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Associated Press Writer Jamal Halaby reported from Amman, Jordan.