Pentagon: Iraqi woman dubbed 'Mrs. Anthrax' in custody

Ammash has a masters degree in microbiology from Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. Story Tools VIDEO Huda Ammash was the only woman on the U.S. list of most wanted Iraqis and she's been accused of overseeing biowarfare research. CNN's Nic Robertson has her story (May 5) PLAY VIDEO RELATED • Interactive: Card deck of most-wanted Iraqis  SPECIAL REPORT •  War Tracker •  On the Scene Map •  Commanders: U.S. | Iraq •  Weapons: 3D Models •  Coalition casualties | POW/MIA •  Special Report

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A biologist who was one of the top women in Saddam Hussein's toppled regime is in U.S. custody, Pentagon officials said Monday.

U.S. officials have accused Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash of overseeing Iraq's suspected biowarfare research programs -- a claim she denied.

Pentagon sources referred to her by the nickname "Mrs. Anthrax."

Months before the war, she appeared in videotapes of Saddam meeting with his war Cabinet.

Ammash is No. 53 on the U.S. list of 55 most wanted Iraqis and the five of hearts in the deck handed out to U.S. troops.

She negotiated her surrender and was taken into custody Sunday in Baghdad, Pentagon officials said.

The former head of Iraq's biowarfare program told CNN that Ammash did not play a significant role in the nation's weapons programs, but did play an administrative role.

A scientist told CNN that Ammash ran a medical testing program in recent years but did not put much time into it.

Officially, Ammash oversaw Iraq's youth activities and the trade bureau.

Ammash was one of the few women close to Saddam and was promoted in 2001 to the Baathist National Command. She is believed to be the first woman from his regime taken into U.S. custody.

Born in 1953, Ammash received a masters degree in microbiology from Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. She obtained a doctorate from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

A mobile weapons laboratory found in northern Iraq did contain equipment for making biological agents but no biological material was found, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is expected to tell the Pentagon Tuesday. Pentagon officials told CNN the equipment in the truck had "recently been thoroughly scrubbed."

CNN correspondents Rym Brahimi, Barbara Starr, Nic Robertson and Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.

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