Two officials of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad and the Iraqi minister of communications are being investigated by the Pentagon over allegations of taking bribes.

Potentially lucrative licences to build and operate mobile phone networks in Iraq were announced last month by Haider al-Abadi, communications minister, in favour of three Middle-Eastern consortia - Orascom Iraq, Asia Cell and Atheer. The announcement was welcomed as an important milestone on the road to rebuilding Iraq. The CPA is to award contracts for Iraq's reconstruction worth about $18.5bn over the next four months or so.