Poisoned Iraqi athletes being treated in Jordan

Feb 8, 2008, 11:50 GMT

Amman - Nine Iraqi athletes, officials and members of their families who fell victim in an attempted poisoning in Iraq were being treated at a private hospital in Amman, Iraq's ambassador Saad Hayyani said Friday.

One of the victims, a child admitted to the hospital after the incident 10 days ago, died on Monday, Hayyani was quoted as saying in news reports.

'The incident took place 10 days ago in Baghdad when the athletes (from a local team) and their managers were celebrating an athletic achievement with their families,' he said.

All indications pointed to an attempt on their lives with the addition of poison to a cake they consumed. 'They are recovering and in good condition,' the diplomat said, adding that he did not know when they would be discharged.

Athletes and sports officials have been targets of threats, kidnappings and assassination in Iraq since the ouster of the former Iraqi regime of executed president Saddam Hussein in 2003.

In 2006, 15 members of an Iraqi taekwondo team were abducted while on their way to a training camp in Jordan. The remains of 13 of them were found in an area in western Iraq in June 2007.