The US military in Iraq denied that ousted president Saddam Hussein, captured a year ago and awaiting trial for crimes against humanity, was on hunger strike in his secret American detention centre.

The Iraqi lawyer of former deputy premier Tareq Aziz said that Saddam and 11 top officials of his toppled regime had been on hunger strike since Friday.

But Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, a coalition spokesman on detention operations in Iraq, denied the claim.

"This absolutely does not involve Saddam. He's in good condition and is continuing with his normal routine, which includes taking his meals," he said.

"I'm trying to determine what grain of truth there might be about the other guys. A few of them might have been turning back some of their meals" but they were not on hunger strike, he said.

Badiaa Aref Ezzat, the lawyer of Aziz, had said he had "reliable information that Saddam Hussein and 11 other prisoners began a hunger strike on Friday to protest ill-treatment.

"I call on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene immediately to check on the prisoners' condition," he added.

Ezzat refused to say how he had received his information but added: "I will have more information once I meet the lawyer of (former vice president) Taha Yassin Ramadan who saw his client for the first time on Saturday."

Ramadan's lawyer is the only one of the detainees' attorneys to have met his client.

US forces found Saddam in a hole in the ground near his hometown of Tikrit last December 13.

He now faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His legal team has repeatedly accused the United States of denying them access to their client.

Saddam, 67, is being held in US custody at a secret location in Iraq and has reportedly received treatment for an enlarged prostate gland, hernia problems and eye trouble.

Source: Agencies