US-led occupation forces in Iraq were on high alert for "attacks" timed to coincide with the 2004 New Year holiday.
Iraqi police officials and US soldiers said they tightened security in Baghdad in anticipation of more "insurgent attacks" over the holiday.
"Police have taken strict security measures with the approach of the New Year and have put in place plans to confront possible terrorist attacks against Iraqis and foreigners," Baghdad police chief General Hassan Ali Ubeidi said.
"Police are going to step up patrols, set up checkpoints and intensify operations across the city," Ubeidi told AFP, adding that over 11,000 officers have been deployed.
In the meantime, in Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said they have asked the US-led occupation in Iraq for access to ousted leader Saddam Hussein.
According to the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has the right to contact any prisoner of war or detained civilian, said spokesman Florian Westphal. "Saddam Hussein, as somebody protected by the Geneva Conventions, has a right to ICRC visits," he said.
The agency, which is the internationally recognized guardian of the Geneva Conventions, has asked for access to the former president since his capture by US forces earlier this month, Westphal said.
The ICRC is working under the assumption that Saddam is a prisoner of war and therefore protected by the third Geneva Convention, which details minimum standards of humane treatment, underlining the reponsibility of the "detaining power" - in this case the United States.
It says that prisoners are only bound to give their name, rank, serial number, date of birth and equivalent information, and forbids physical or mental torture, or "any other form of coercion ... to secure from them any kind of information whatever".
"Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind", the convention adds. (Albawaba.com)
