Iraq's President Jalal Talabani says deposed leader Saddam Hussein has confessed to committing crimes during his reign.
The president's comments came Tuesday during an interview with Iraqi television.
Saddam Hussein is set to go on trial on October 19, along with several aides. The first prosecution will focus on the 1982 massacre in the town of Dujail, where more than 140 Shi'ite Muslims were killed in alleged retaliation for a failed plot to kill Saddam.
In other developments Tuesday, the U.S. military in Iraq says American warplanes have bombed two bridges in western al-Anbar province, to stop insurgents from using them to move fighters and equipment to other cities for attacks.
The air strikes near the Syrian border did not destroy the Euphrates River bridges, but made them inoperable. No casualties were reported.
Elsewhere, in the southern Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, U.S. forces handed over military control of the city to Iraqi forces.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters.
