Bilal Hussein, the Associated Press photographer who has been held by military authorities in Iraq since April 2006 is to be charged with aiding insurgent forces, reports the New York Times.

A spokesman for the American military , Maj. Brad Leighton, said Hussein was held after soldiers found explosive devices, insurgency propaganda and surveillance photographs of a coalition forces installation during a routine patrol at his apartment in 2006.

His lawyer, Paul Gardephe, said the allegations were unfounded and said the American authorities had not disclosed any specific charges to be brought against Hussein.

Kathleen Carroll, executive editor of The A.P., said in an interview: “We believe that Bilal Hussein has been singled out because of his work as a journalist. While we are glad that there is finally some development that may lead to the end of his imprisonment without charges, we are concerned still about the lack of specificity against him. We have long said that Bilal Hussein was nothing more than a reputable A.P. journalist doing his job, and our position about that has not changed.”