Iraq has denied a charge by British Prime Minister Tony Blair that it executed two British soldiers captured in the US-led war on Iraq.
In an interview with Abu Dhabi television yesterday, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf said Mr Blair had "lied to the public" about the soldiers.
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At a joint news conference with US President George W. Bush in Camp David, Maryland, Mr Blair had denounced Iraq for releasing "those pictures of executed British soldiers".
Mr al-Sahaf said that when Iraq released pictures of burnt British soldiers, "the situation became tense in Britain because the British Prime Minister lied to the public".
"To launch a psychological war on us he said you have executed [them]," Mr al-Sahaf said. "We haven't executed anyone. They are either killed in the battlefield, and most of them are killed because they are cowards, and the rest are captured".
A spokesman for Mr Blair said later it could not be proven that the soldiers had been executed but that it seemed likely.
He cited as evidence the fact that the bodies were some distance away from their vehicles and had lost protective equipment, including helmets and flak jackets.
"We accept that that is not absolute evidence, but it does point in that direction," the spokesman added.