U.S. Takes Custody of Three Iraqi Officials

10 heart and 9 diamonds are captured, it appears.

10 of hearts (Huwaysh)

9 of diamonds (Maruf)

My students are going to love this. We are working on our fourth hand of captured Iraqic leaders.

U.S. Takes Custody of 3 Iraq Officials

.c The Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - The director of Iraq's office of military industrialization and one of Iraq's two vice presidents under Saddam Hussein have been taken in custody by the U.S.-led military coalition, U.S. Central Command announced Friday.

In a brief statement, Central Command identified the detained men as Abd al Tawab Mullah Huwaysh, director of the Office of Military Industrialization, and Taha Muhyl al Din Maruf, an Iraqi vice president and member of the Revolutionary Command Council.

The statement did not give details of where the men were detained, where they were being held or whether they surrendered or were seized.

Huwaysh was listed as No. 16 on the coalition's list of the 55 most-wanted figures from Saddam's regime and Maruf was No. 42.

The statement came several hours after the U.S. military in Baghdad said that a man said to be a close confidant of Saddam was under arrest Friday after being taken into custody in the Iraqi capital.

The announcement at the U.S. Army's V Corps headquarters said Mizban Khadr Hadi, a member of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council and a top Baath Party leader, was captured Thursday in the area of Baghdad controlled by the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

The announcement also said Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, the former minister of trade, had been arrested Thursday as well. But the U.S. military in Washington had already reported his arrest on April 23. The U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar, could not immediately reconcile the discrepancy and it issued no statement on Hadi's reported arrest.

Marouf was the only Kurd in the Baath hierarchy. He was appointed as one of Iraq's two vice presidents in 1975, but the position is seen largely as a gesture to the Kurdish minority and he had little real power.

Born into a prominent family in Kurd-dominated northern Iraq in 1924, Marouf joined the Baath Party in 1968 and has held several ministerial posts. He has also served as ambassador to Italy, Malta and Albania.

Hadi is No. 41 on the U.S. coalition's list of the 55 most-wanted figures.

He was among Saddam's most trusted aides who were elevated by the Iraqi leader in March to command the country's four military regions in an attempt by the Iraqi leader to delegate command and strengthen the defense of his country against the American invasion that came later that month.

Hadi was placed in charge of the area that included the Shiite Muslim holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.

In May 2001, Hadi was put in charge of the party's Farmers' Central Office.

Hadi was reportedly extremely close to Saddam and has been one of his advisers, especially on Shiite affairs, since the early 1980s.

He has been a minister without porfolio since June 1982 and before that was governor of Najaf. He was decorated by Saddam for his services during the 1991 Gulf War and the month-long Shiite rebellion that followed Iraq's defeat.

V Corps headquarters, based near Baghdad's airport, had no further details.

05/02/03 07:48 EDT

All this is great news, but we want BOB!

How about this until Bob can be signed to do the news at one of the the alphabet channels?

Ex-Iraq information minister set to make music

Two Iraqis on US wanted list apprehended - Centcom

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Two men on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis have been apprehended, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Friday, including the former head of the Iraqi ministry in charge of developing weapons.

Abdul Tawab Mullah Hwaish, minister of military industrialisation and No. 16 on the wanted list "is now in coalition custody," the statement said.

The Military Industrialisation Ministry was established in the 1980s to develop weapons. The apprehension could help U.S. investigators in their search for weapons of mass destruction that Washington said Iraq possessed.

Also apprehended was No. 42, Taha Mohieddin Ma'rouf, an Iraqi vice president and member of Saddam Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council, Centcom said.

While one of only two vice presidents and a member of Saddam's RCC, Ma'rouf was not considered part of the former Iraqi leader's inner circle and rarely appeared in public or made statements.

Centcom issued a list of most-wanted Iraqis after ousting Saddam on April 9 following a U.S.-led military invasion of Iraq. Friday's announcement brought to 17 the number of people on the list known to have surrendered or been captured.

At the top of the wanted list are Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay. U.S. officials have said they have no information on whether the three are alive or dead.

05/02/03 08:18 ET

Round'm up. What a stark difference to Klintoon. Klintoon kept promising to "get" those responsible. He did nothing. Bush is getting it done, it's fantastic to have a leader after those 8 long years.

Another One Bites The Dust

Recent additions:
5/02/03 - Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF
[25 year] Vice President and Revolutionary Command Council member

5/02/03 -Mizban Khadr Hadi
Revolutionary Command Council member and a top Baath Party leader

5/02/03 - Abd al Tawab Mullah Huwaysh
Office of Military Industrialization Director [WMD]

ALSO: [some confusion about the 6-of-hearts ... Caught TODAY?
or caught 4/23?] either way, he is NOW CAUGHT!

ALSO: Iraq's TRANSPORTATION MINISTER [wanted but had no card] CAUGHT ... name to follow

Recent additions: 4/29/2003
Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti
Governor of Basrah Governate

ALSO: [an unnamed associate of] Abu Musab Zarqawi - Iraq's top Al-Qaeda connections

Iraq's 55 36 Most Wanted Scoreboard - - and Freeper additions See the DOD website for photos. Note their joker card has an Iraqi SURNAME explanation (Revised: 5/02am(2))
	Name	Position	Status
	Saddam Hussein	President of Iraq/CINC of Military	Possibly Dead
	Qusay Hussein	SSO, SRG & RGFC Commander	Possibly Dead
	Uday Hussein	Saddam Fedayeen Commander [the older "crazy rapist" son]	Possibly Dead
	Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti	Presidential Secretary (WMD Release Authority)	At large**
	Ali Hasan al-Majid [aka: "Chemical Ali"]	Pres. Advisor, Fmr South Reg Cmdr	Believed DEAD
	Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri	Vice Chair of the RCC, North Reg Cmdr	At large**
	Hani Abd Latif Tilfa al-Tikriti	SSO Director	At large**
	Aziz Salih al-Numan	BP Regional Cmdr/Cmdr BP Militia Reg Cmd	At large**
	Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI [aka Saddam's "Shiite Thug"]	Central Euphrates Reg Cmdr "One of Saddam's most ruthless war criminals" -Clinton Admin	Captured 4/21/03
	Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti	RG Secretary	At large**
	Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti	SRG Commander	At large**
	Muzahim Sa'b Hasan al-Tikriti	Air Defense Force Commander	Captured 4/23/03
	Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar Muhammad al-Tikriti	Armed Forces Chief of Staff	At large
	Sayf al-Din Fulayyih Hassan Taha al-Rawi	RGFC Chief	At large**
	Rafi Abd Latif al Tilfah	DGS Director	At large
	Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti	IIS Director	At large**
	Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti	Air Force Commander	At large
	Latif Nussayif Jasim al Dulaymi	Dep Chmn Baath Party	At large
	Abd al Tawab Mullah Huwaysh	OMI Director (WMD Production)	Captured 5/02/03
	Taha Yasin RAMADAN al-Jizrawi	Vice President	At large
	Rukan Razuki abd al-Ghafar al-Majid Sulayman al-Tikriti	Chief of Tribal Affairs	At large
	Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti	Deputy Chief of Tribal Affairs [Saddam's son-in-law]	In Custody 4/20/03
	Mizban Khadr Hadi	RCC Member, Reg CDR Central Euphrates Region	Captured 5/02/03
	Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF	Vice President and RCC Member	Captured 5/02/03
	Tariq Mikhail AZIZ	Deputy Prime Minister	In Custody 4/24/03
	Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti	Governor of Basrah Governate	In Custody 4/29/03
	Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi	Dep Prime Minister, Economics & Finance Min.	Captured 4/19/03
	Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai	Minister of Defense	At large
	Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad	Minister of the Interior	At large
	Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi	Al Quds Force Chief of Staff	At large
	Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib	DMI Director	Captured 4/23/03
	Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Sadi	Presidential Scientific Adviser/NMD Dir Gen [chemical and biological programs]	In Custody 4/12/03
	Amir Rashid Muhammad al-Ubaydi	Former Oil Minister [aka "Missle Man" married to "Dr. Germ"]	In Custody 4/28/03
	Husam Muhammad AMIN al-Yasin	National Monitoring Director	Captured 4/27/03
	Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih	Minister of Trade	Captured 4/23/03
	Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Maternal Half Brother	At large **
	Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Half Brother	Captured 4/13/03
	Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Half Brother	Captured 4/16/03
	Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash	Party Youth & Trade Bureau Chairman	At large
	Abd al-Baqi abd al-Karim Abdallah al-Sadun	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Baghdad	At large
	Muhammad Zimam Abd al-Razzaq al-Sadun	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ta'mim & Ninawa Gov	At large
	Samir abd al-Aziz al-Najim	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Diyal Gov.	Captured 4/17/03
	Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur	Min of Higher Education & Scientific Research	Captured 4/20/03
	Yahya Abdallah al-Ubaydi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Basrah Gov.	At large
	Sa'd Abd al-Majid al-Faysal	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Salah ad Din Gov.	At large
	Sayf al-Din al-Mashhadani	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Muthanna Gov.	At large
	Fadil Mahmud Gharib (aka: Gharib Muhammad Fazel) al-Mashaikh	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Babil/Karbala Gov.	At large
	Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Qadasiyah Gov.	At large
	Rashid Taan Kazim	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Anbar Governate	At large
	Ugla Abid Saqr al-Kubaysi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Maysan Governate	At large
	Ghazi Hammud al-Ubaydi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Wasit Gov.	At large
	Adil Abdallah Mahdi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Dhi Qar Governate	At large
	Nayif Shindakh Thamir	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Salah ad Din Governate	At large
	Husayn Al Awawi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ninawa Governate	At large
	Khamis Sirhan al Muhammad	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Karbala Governate	At large
- - - Freeper Additions - - -
	Farouk Hijazi	#3 in Mukhabarat Iraqi intelligence ["biggest fish so far" -CIA]	Captured 4/25/03
	["unnamed associate of"] Abu Musab Zarqawi	a leading Al Qaeda operative	Captured 4/29/03
	Abu Abbas	Convicted Terrorist/Murderer - Leader Palestine Liberation Front	Captured 4/15/03
	Ahmed Walid Raguib al-Baz	Terrorist - 1st Lieutenant Palestine Liberation Front	Killed 3/20/03
	Khala Khadr Al-Salahat	Member of the Abul Nidal terrorist organization	In Custody 4/18/03
	Abdul Rahman Yasin	Indicted fugitive from 1993 WTC bombing, $25 Million reward	At large
	Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani	former Iraq Consul, met with Mohammed Atta in Prague shortly before 9/11	At large
	Ali Hussein Habib	Iraqi airforce general	Killed by the regime ~3/20/03
	Khaled Abdallah	a senior official of Saddam's Mukhabarat secret police	In Custody 4/20/03
	Major Khalid Hmood	Head of Iraqi intelligence during the war and one of Saddam's top bodyguards,	In Custody 4/20/03
	Salim Sa'id Khalaf al-Jumayli	former Chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service American Desk	Captured 4/23/03
	"Son of Ham" [apple falls close to the tree]	Son of Hamza (Q-of-Spades - one of Saddam's most ruthless war criminals)	Captured 4/21/03
	Jaffar al-Jaffer	physicist & father of Iraq's nuclear WMD program	In Custody 4/13/03
	Imad Husayn Abdallah al-Ani	former VX nerve agent developer	In Custody 4/18/03
	Rihab Taha [aka "Dr. Germ"]	architect of Iraq's bio WMD program	At Large
	Mohammed Saeed Kazim al-Sahaf [aka: "Comical Ali"] [aka: "Baghdad Bob"]	Minister of Information [wanted for DNC spokesperson]	On Administrative Leave [reportedly FOUND?]
	** These nine fugitives were reportedly hiding in Syria If someone else updates this list, please bump the revision at the top and ping FL_Engineer You can click here to see if there is a pointer to a newer revision.

Iraq's 55 36 Most Wanted Scoreboard - - another UPDATE today.

Good deal, I was wondering where these guys are in the deck. We keep getting them, so stuff it, Demorats.

great list,thanks for the update!

Yahoooooo! Keep those updates rollin' !!!!!

I am wondering about all these "sudden" captures and surrenders. I pose this possibility: It is possible that the Bush Administration believes that some of these people can be placed back into positions of power. The reason for this is because of the Shiites who are sympathetic to Iran. We trust the Shiites about as much as we trust Hillary, and reality may dictate that it is better to offer former Iraqi officials a deal that we can monitor than to let an Iranian sympathetic government take over in Iraq.

Just a theory though, but I just seem to have some nagging doubts.

Ahmed Chalabi has said that not even a majority of Shiites support a mullah-ocracy. These Ba'athists will not appear in the Interim Iraqi Authority. I'll guarantee that. We'll work to build democratic institutions and let leaders develop for elections in the future. The Iraqis will not support any Ba'athists in power. They'll be hanged on the spot.