NATION IN BRIEF : VIRGINIA : 3 Iraqis Charged in Smuggling Plot

Three Iraqi nationals were indicted in Alexandria, Va., on charges of trying to smuggle $2.5 million in military electronics to the Saddam Hussein regime. The action followed an eight-month U.S. Customs Service sting featuring a front company that offered sophisticated military electronics to the three. Indicted were Anas Malik Dohan, Mohammed Zaid Jafar and his father, Zaid Jafar. Mohammed Zaid Jafar, who lives in Chevy Chase, Md., was arrested. Jafar was believed to be in Baghdad and Dohan was believed to be in Jordan. Trade between U.S. companies and Iraq has been illegal since President Bush imposed a blanket embargo shortly after the invasion of Kuwait.