An Iraqi court heard on Tuesday witnesses who claimed that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi masterminded killings of his opponents.

An Iraqi court heard on Tuesday witnesses who claimed that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi masterminded killings of his opponents.

The Central Criminal Court of Iraq opened the case after a two-week delay over a venue dispute, and also heard testimony from relatives of three victims whose deaths Hashemi is accused of orchestrating.

"He asked me to plant a car bomb near Buratha mosque, and I carried out the operation," Ahmed Shawqi, identified by court officials as one of Hashemi's bodyguards, told the court.
"The orders for the operations either came from him personally, or from his brother-in-law Ahmed Qahtan."

"I was the leader of the operation that targeted Ghalib al-Assadi because he was causing problems for Tareq al-Hashemi, and he wanted to eliminate him," he added, referring to one of the security officials killed.
Hashemi was accused in December of running a death squad and, along with his staff and bodyguards, faces around 150 charges.

The vice president, last known to be in Turkey, is the subject of an Interpol red notice calling for his arrest but says he fears for his life in Baghdad, and is being tried in absentia.
Tuesday's hearing was tackling the murders of two security officials and a lawyer.

Witnesses gave testimony accusing Hashemi of masterminding the killings before reporters were led out of the room.