Iraq's interim government reinstated the death penalty on Sunday for a limited range of crimes including murder, kidnapping and drug offences, an official said.

The death penalty will go into force once it is published in a government gazette, Minister of State Adnan al-Janabi said.

Capital punishment was halted after the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in April last year.

"This is not an open door to execute anyone and everyone, or people whom the government dislikes. This is not Saddam's law," he added.

The government unveiled on Saturday an amnesty law, under which Iraqis committing minor crimes would be pardoned.

The two laws were considered a carrot-and-stick approach by the interim government to try to appease the insurgency that has lasted for 15 months.

Source: Xinhua