U.S. Refuses to Release Iraqi Prisoners

AP International NewsBrief at 10:57 a.m. EDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ The United States disputed a senior Iraqi official's statement Wednesday that a decision had been made to free a high-profile Iraqi woman prisoner. Iraqi militants who beheaded two kidnapped Americans have threatened to kill a Briton unless female detainees are freed. After the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said there would be no immediate release of either of the two women in U.S. custody, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi knocked down earlier comments by his Justice Department that one woman would be freed.

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