STOCKHOLM, Aug 21 Swedish prosecutors on Saturday cancelled an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying the boss of the website that released secret documents on the Afghan war was no longer suspected of rape.

The issue of the warrant just hours earlier had sparked claims of dirty tricks from the 39-year-old Australian, who is at odds with the Pentagon over thousands more secret papers that his whistleblower site plans to unveil.

“Chief prosecutor Eva Finne has come to the decision that Julian Assange is not suspected of rape,” said a statement on the Swedish prosecution service's own website, adding that Mr Assange was “no longer wanted.” The statement said Finne would make no other comments on Saturday.

Swedish prosecution office spokesperson Karin Rosander had said earlier that Mr Assange “was wanted for two different issues, one of them is that he's suspected of rape in Sweden”.—AFP