Ten Iraqis have become seriously ill from eating cakes laced with the poison thallium. Two of the victims, both children, died after eating cake delivered to a military club in Baghdad. The others are being treated in hospital in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
It is the first time the deadly toxin has been used since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, whose regime used it to kill its opponents. At least two of the poison victims, the secretary of the Iraqi air force club and his daughter, are critically ill. They and half-a-dozen other patients suffering from thallium poisoning were flown from Baghdad to Amman as the necessary treatments and antidotes were not available in Iraq.
Thallium is an ideal assassin's tool, being tasteless and easy to administer, and its effects take some time to appear. It then causes a lingering and painful death. An antidote known as Prussian Blue can be effective if taken quickly. An investigation is under way in Baghdad. The manager of the air force club told the BBC he believed it was carried out by people with a grudge against the club's administration-- a former official is believed to have delivered two poison-laced cakes in the guise of a goodwill gesture. They were taken home and eaten by two officials' families, who all fell ill.
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