AN Iraqi woman who visited the North-East as part of a business tour has told how she survived a rocket attack on her return home.

Amnah Taher, 35, is the second member of the delegation to claim their lives were put under threat after being branded as traitors for working with the British Government.

The workers, trained and funded by UK operations based in Basra, were flown to the region in 2005 for a high-profile tour of companies in Darlington, Durham, and Sunderland.

The mother of one, said she was sent death threats on her return.

She survived a rocket attack on her workplace at Basra's Business Information Centre - a training school for Iraqi entrepreneurs set up with British government cash.

She fled to Syria - but has since been forced to return after her cash ran out - after militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked her office in October 2006.

"We could hear explosions and the sound of somebody screaming.

We were very shocked and we could not see each other because of the fire and smoke."

This week, as the Iraq war reaches its fifth anniversary, she said she is in hiding after further death threats from the Mahdi Militia.

Ms Taher said she and her colleagues - including Mohammed Thana, whose story The Northern Echo reported last month - were targeted for their UK associations.

"We asked the British consulate for some help and protection but nobody listened.

"I am very sorry to say that all the British promises about help for the people of Iraq is not true."

David Mitchell, the County Durham-based development worker who organised the 2005 North-East tour, said it was designed to help them learn about business strategies to help rebuild the Iraqi economy.

They toured The Northern Echo in Darlington, The PC Helpdesk at Langley Park, Durham, and The Big Ideas Centre for business, in Sunderland.

Mr Mitchell acknowledged the threats to several members of the 2005 tour, but said some have been able to lead successful lives with new businesses in Iraq.

He said Iraq needed qualified young citizens like them to stay in the country to stop it from falling into extremists' hands.

"The principle of bringing people back to the UK to escape violence is absolutely fair," said Mr Mitchell.

Another member of the 2005 tour, 29-year-old Mohammed Thana, survived a grenade attack on his home after he was accused of co-operating with the British.

Now in hiding in Syria, he has applied for refugee status, but is still waiting to hear if he is to be moved to the UK.