Iraqi Cleared of Plotting Revenge Killings

An Iraqi man living in Australia has been cleared of plotting to kill members of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime more than two years ago, a media report said.

Khairallah Bunajim, 42, had been accused of conspiring to kill at least three people as revenge for the slayings of his father and brother. Prosecutors alleged that Bunajim offered in phone calls to Iraqi family members in July 2004 to pay thousands of dollars to arrange the killings.

But Bunajim said that the calls were incorrectly translated and that he was offering to buy a car for poor relatives, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.