Report: al-Douri Possibly Killed or Caught
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
KIRKUK, Iraq — U.S. troops may have killed or arrested a top former deputy of Saddam Hussein (search) who is suspected of leading the anti-U.S. insurgency, an Iraqi official said Tuesday. Officials of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad said they had no information on the report.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (search), No. 6 on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis, may have been arrested or killed in a U.S. raid in Kirkuk (search) in northern Iraq, a senior Kurdish official in Kirkuk said on condition of anonymity.
"I heard he might have been killed or captured," the official said, citing sources in his political party.
U.S. officials last week offered a $10 million reward for information leading to al-Douri's capture. Aside from Saddam, al-Douri is the most senior official of the former regime who is still at large.
Last week, U.S. troops arrested a wife and a daughter of al-Douri in an apparent attempt to pressure him into surrendering.