IRAQI officials called for the release of six women prisoners held by the US military but emphasised that the move had not been made in response to demands set out by the kidnappers of an American reporter.

A Justice Ministry official said that its decision to free six of the eight women held in US-controlled prisons had been taken by a review board last Monday, the day before the kidnappers of Jill Carroll said that they would kill her unless all women prisoners were released by the Americans.

“There was no outside pressure on the commission” to release the women, another Human Rights Ministry official said. The women are due to be released in the coming days, leading to hopes that the kidnappers will extend their 72-hour deadline, set on Tuesday night, to murder the freelance journalist if their conditions are not met.

The US military has remained silent on the issue, apparently concerned that it could appear to be appeasing terrorists who have brought the country to a virtual standstill with endless kidnappings, bombings and assassinations designed to push the weakened country into a civil war.

Ms Carroll, 28, was kidnapped and her Iraqi translator shot dead on January 7 after trying to visit a prominent Sunni politician in a volatile area of west Baghdad. She was shown this week in a video recording looking stressed but unhurt.

Her mother, Mary Beth Carroll, made a fresh appeal for her daughter’s release, saying that “the video just released gives us hope that Jill is alive but has also shaken us about her fate. Taking vengeance on my innocent daughter, who loved Iraq and its people, will not create justice,” she said.

Violence in Iraq is expected to worsen when the results of last month’s elections are released. Almost simultaneous suicide bombings inside a Baghdad restaurant and in the street outside killed more than 20 people yesterday, police said.

Independent election monitors released a report yesterday stating that while fraud had occurred, it was neither widespread nor systematic. “Fraud and other violations did take place,” the report concluded.

“Additional fraud in all probability did take place,” it said, adding that staffing shortages and security concerns had possibly prevented many offences from being unearthed. But it did not recommend new elections in any areas. The election committee has already annulled the results of 227 polling stations out of 31,000, calling the fraud “marginal”. Officials said that the final results would be released within a few days.

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