Key developments Saturday in the war against Iraq

  • Seven former U.S. prisoners of war arrived in Texas to cheers from flag-waving family and friends, a week after they were rescued in Iraq.
  • Four U.S. soldiers on patrol were wounded when an Iraqi girl handed them an explosive and it blew up, American military officials said. They said they believed it was an accident.
  • Iraqi police arrested Saddam Hussein’s former finance minister, Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, and turned him over to the Marines.
  • U.S. Central Command also said Khala Khader al-Salahat, a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization, had surrendered to Marines in Baghdad.
  • Foreign ministers from eight Middle East nations wrapped up a meeting in Saudi Arabia with an appeal to U.S. and British forces to leave Iraq swiftly and also to maintain security while in Iraq.
  • After anti-American protests in Baghdad, Shiite Muslims marched through the streets of the capital in a prelude to their annual pilgrimage to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala next week.
  • U.S. customs inspectors and Border Patrol agents were instructed to watch for and seize any stolen Iraqi art works and antiquities headed for the black market.