In 1940 Gaunt became transport adviser to the Ministry of Food.

An American adviser to the ministry said Mr. Bolani was unavailable for an interview last week.

One victim was a former congressman who had been an aide to Gen. Juan Arevalo Gardoqui, a former Defense Minister and current adviser to the ministry.

That is less than 1 percent of the captive population but is nonetheless "a lot of fish," said Rune Bildeng, a special adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries.

The selection of the preferred bidder for the mine follows an extensive process since launch in December 2011, which has been supported by transaction advisers and transparency advisers to the Ministry.

By summer, an American government adviser to the ministry, Mathew Sherman, recalled writing in his notes that "the ministry is quickly being infiltrated by militia and by Badr people."

"Until the arrival of the transnational tobacco companies and the beginning of aggressive advertising, the prevalence of smoking was decreasing," said Dr. Kozak, an adviser to the ministry who is helping to prepare legislation to restrict cigarette advertising.

Mr. Zarqawi's group posted an Internet message on Thursday claiming responsibility for the killing the previous day of James Mollen, 48, a State Department employee who was an adviser to the Ministry of Education, news agencies reported.