Saddam Hussein could face up to 500 charges at a tribunal, but he will be tried on only 12 well documented counts because prosecuting him on all would be a "waste of time," the prime minister's spokesman said yesterday.

Laith Kuba also said Saddam was likely to be tried within the next two months on a range of charges, including alleged crimes committed in Iraqi Kurdistan.

"There should be no objection that a trial should take place within that time," Kuba said during a press conference. "It is the government's view that the trial of Saddam should take place as soon as possible."

No date has been set for the trial of Saddam, who has been held in a US-run detention facility in Baghdad since being captured in December 2003.

"The number of charges on which he will be tried are 12 and the judges are confidant that he will be convicted of these charges," Kuba said.

Saddam has been accused of ordering the killing of tens of thousands of Shias and Kurds who rose up against him in 1991 following the Gulf War that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.