Zaidi shoes destroyed after Bush attack

Security agents, looking for explosives, have destroyed the shoes which Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi hurled at outgoing US President.

"The shoes were examined by the Iraqi and American security services and then destroyed," the investigating judge, Dhiya al-Kenani, told AFP on Thursday.

The judge meanwhile stated that lack of the valuable piece of evidence in the case - Zaidi's shoes - would not place obstacles in the way of investigation proceedings.

"I would have preferred to have had the shoes as evidence for the case but since Muntadhar al-Zaidi has confessed to his action and that the television pictures confirm it, the investigation can continue," he said.

Under Iraqi law, the journalist could face between five and 15 years behind bars if found guilty of 'aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit.'

Zaidi grabbed the world spotlight after he threw both of his shoes at Bush while the US president and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki were holding a news conference Sunday after Bush's surprise visit to Baghdad.

Relatives and colleagues have said Muntadhar did the act because he 'detested' Bush and America.