Iraq city governor jailed for 14 years

The US-appointed governor of an Iraqi city was jailed for 14 years today after using his new-found powers to rob and terrorise his own people.

US troops appointed Haydar Abdul Mun'im governor of the holy city of Najaf after he won their trust with tip-offs about Ba'ath Party fighters.

Bur within weeks of taking office in April, locals had dubbed him "the Second Saddam" after he began stealing cars, extorting public funds from bank officials and kidnapping anybody who got in his way.

Today, judges at Iraq's newlyconvened central criminal court in Baghdad sentenced him to 14 years in jail after he was found guilty of corruption, extortion and false imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the number killed in the missile attack on a US army Chinook rose to 16 today as commanders in Iraq began an urgent safety review of the use of helicopters in known danger zones.

The US military in Baghdad put the casualty count at 15 dead and 21 wounded, but a senior official in Washington said later that one of the injured had died.

The helicopter was one of two Chinooks ferrying more than 50 troops to Baghdad airport when its rear rotor blade was hit by the missile. The aircraft crashed and exploded in a field.

Escalating violence against US forces has seen 31 killed in the last 10 days.