Iraq to recruit 100,000 ex-army soldiers

"Since June, we have recruited about 50,000 soldiers from Saddam Hussein's former army, because they are people who have been well trained and know how to fight. We need people like them in the current situation," Adnan Hadi al-Assadi told AFP in a recent interview.

Assadi, a top adviser at the interior ministry, said there were currently 100,000 policemen in Iraq but argued that two or three times that number were needed.

"There are some 30 million Iraqis. Within three years, we would need one policeman for each 100 inhabitants because the situation isn't stable, compared to western countries where the rate averages one for 300," he said.

"The new phase of recruiting should take place chiefly among these former soldiers, notably for training and field duties," Assadi said.