The Iraqi government announced today that an internal investigation found that the controversial bomb-detecting devices its security forces use -- the ones derided as "magic wands" or "Ouija boards" and which are nearly universally mocked -- are mostly effective and will remain in use.

Ali al Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, said in a statement that some of the devices were found to be fake or ineffective, but that most of them worked fine and would be kept in service at checkpoints. The faulty models would be taken out of circulation and replaced, al Dabbagh added. The Iraqi government is still looking into the procurement of the British-made device and plans to sue the manufacturer for the faulty models.

I blogged a few weeks ago about the device, which is is shaped like a gun with a metal sensor on the nose. If a bomb (or perfume, soap and detergent) is detected, the sensor moves toward the suspicious substance.

The following is more from the AP:

The statement did not say exactly how many of the wands would be withdrawn from service, but al-Dabbagh later told The Associated Press that only 50 percent of the gadgets were operational. However, he added, measures were being taken to expand the use of trained dogs at checkpoints to detect explosives.

Britain halted the export of the ADE651 last month after a BBC report found the device uses technology similar to anti-shoplifting tags that cannot uncover explosives. Police later arrested the company's director on suspicion of fraud. He has since been released, though an investigation continues.

Last month, the Iraqis promised to halt the use of the gadgets and seek an alternative if the investigation determined they were flawed. But al-Dabbagh's statement said only that individual devices had problems while supporting the use of the gadgets overall.

As late as June 2009, the U.S. military told Iraq the device did not work. It distributed a study, which used laboratory testing and X-ray analysis that found the ADE651 ineffective.