WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday announced the Justice Department would open an investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes of Al Qaeda operatives.

“Following a preliminary inquiry into the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations, the (Justice) Department’s National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter,” Mukasey said in a statement.—AFP