Iraq has said it plans to rebuild the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, complete with a museum portraying the crimes of Saddam Hussein. The jail, which is situated 15 miles west of Baghdad, has been closed since September 2006 after the US military handed it over to the Iraqi authorities in the wake of a prisoner abuse scandal.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said: "A part of it will be kept as a museum for showing the crimes committed by the previous regime." However, it is thought that no references to the facility's recent controversy will be made.
A committee of interior, defence and justice ministries will oversee the reconstruction, the spokesman added, but he was unable to give a timetable for completion.
Abu Ghraib housed approximately 2,000 inmates when it was closed in 2006.