DHAKA: Closing of infamous Abu Ghraib prison, situated at west of Baghdad is temporary and it might be reopened at anytime.

The Huffington Post publishes a report on Wednesday that once the security situation in the surrounding area is stable Abu Ghraib will be reopened, an Iraqi Justice Ministry official said.

The influential news portal also mentioned that the closure is the latest chapter in the history of the prison, which during Saddam Hussein’s rule was one of the main facilities for jailing and executing his opponents.

After the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam, Abu Ghraib became notorious once again, for a 2004 scandal over abuses of detainees by American guards.

The prison is located on Baghdad’s outskirts at the edge of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, an area that sees frequent clashes between an al-Qaida-splinter group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, and government forces and their Sunni tribal militias.

Iraq justice minister Hassan al-Shimmari announced the closure on Tuesday, saying Abu Ghraib’s 2,400 inmates have been transferred to other prisons in central and northern Iraq.

Al-Shimmari said it was a precautionary measure because the facility is located in ‘a restive area’.

Ministry spokesman Haider al-Saadi said Wednesday the shutdown ‘is mainly because of the security situation in the surrounding area’.

He said renovation work was underway during the closure, and that the facility would be reopened once the work is done and ‘the security situation is stable’.

Last July, militants attacked Abu Ghraib and another prison, setting free hundreds of inmates, including many militants. Dozens of other inmates and security personnel were killed in the attack.

Also Wednesday, insurgents carried out back-to-back suicide attacks against security forces in Anbar province’s capital, Ramadi, killing at least eight, officials said.

BDST: 2125 HRS, APR 16, 2014