July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. fighter pilots held prisoner by Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War can't collect compensation from seized Iraqi money that President George W. Bush set aside to rebuild that country, a U.S. judge said.

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts denied a request by 17 former prisoners of war to bar the Bush administration from spending the money seized from Saddam Hussein's regime during the war waged a decade ago to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

The former fighter pilots had been awarded $959 million in damages for their lawsuit charging they were tortured by Iraq during their captivity.

Roberts, who ruled the former POWs were entitled to the compensation from Iraq, today held they couldn't collect from the Iraqi assets earmarked for reconstruction.

The U.S. seized $1.7 billion from Iraq and has spent part of the money on reconstruction since Bush earmarked the funds for that purpose. At least $700 million remains in the account.

Last Updated: July 30, 2003 15:10 EDT