Pentagon to Help Retrieve Evidence of Baghdad’s Atrocities, Report Says

The U.S. military is helping transport out of northern Iraq a vast quantity of documents and videotapes detailing the torture and executions of Kurds, a newspaper reported today.

Human rights groups declare that they will use the information to determine if Saddam Hussein’s government can be charged under the U.N. convention on genocide, the New York Times said.

The Kurds captured tons of material, including documents from intelligence offices and offices of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, during their March, 1991, uprising after the Persian Gulf War, human rights officials have said. The items included execution lists and videotapes of torture.

The Pentagon has issued an order allowing U.S. trucks to bring the materials from remote hideouts to collection points near the Turkish border, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified U.S. Administration officials.