Posted on 12/02/2003 11:48:44 AM PST by Dog
Iraq's King of Clubs Said to Have Evaded U.S. Capture
US troops conducted a massive raid near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk today, but denied reports that Saddam Hussein’s right hand man – the King of Clubs in the most wanted list – had been captured.
A member of Iraq’s Governing Council said Saddam Hussein’s top former deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri – the most wanted man in Iraq after the deposed dictator – was the target of the raid.
But US army spokesman Sergeant Robert Cargie said “We get our information from the 173rd (Airborne Brigade) and the 173rd is saying they don’t have him.”
The Americans have pointed to al-Douri as a co-ordinator of the insurgency against US forces, and last week offered a £6 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said there was “a very big military operation” in Kirkuk and that those killed or captured included a “big fish.”
A senior Kurdish official in Kirkuk said earlier that he heard al-Douri had been “killed or captured,” citing sources in his political party.
At a Nato meeting in Brussels, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had no information about the reports of his death or capture.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said he could not confirm the reports. In Washington, a US official cast doubt on them.
The US raid took place in Hawija, 30 miles west of Kirkuk, and witnesses said American soldiers arrested dozens of people.
Witnesses said the families of al-Douri’s bodyguards were seen crying.
For months, US officials have pointed to al-Douri as a co-ordinator of incessant attacks on American forces in Iraq – and that he could be working with the al-Qaida-linked militant group Ansar al-Islam.
In the latest such violence, a US soldier from the 4th Infantry Division was killed today near Samarra, the site of weekend fighting between American troops and guerrillas, the military said.
US commanders claimed that up to 54 guerrillas were killed in the clash on Sunday , but this has been disputed by residents and hospital officials who say less than 10 people – most of them civilians – died.
Number Six on the American military list of most-wanted Iraqis, al-Douri was vice chairman of Saddam’s Revolutionary Command Council.
US troops last week arrested his wife and a daughter in an apparent attempt to pressure him into surrendering. One of his daughters was briefly married to Saddam’s son Odai who was killed by US forces in July.
Now 61, al-Douri was born near Saddam’s home town of Tikrit and was involved in the coup that brought the Iraqi dictator to power in 1968.
He authorised the use of poison gas against the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988 and is also blamed for the ethnic cleansing of the southern Iraqi marshes and thousands of executions.
Saddam put him in charge of defending northern Iraq in the latest war.
According to US military officials, al-Douri has been co-ordinating guerrilla attacks against American led forces since they captured Baghdad in April.
In Baghdad today, workers today began dismantling four giant bronze busts of Saddam Hussein that have long been a landmark in the Iraqi capital.
The workers used a construction crane to take down the busts in the Republican Palace, in yet another move aimed at eradicating the former leader’s influence.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s chief representative in Iraq, warned today that insurgents are now turning to softer targets and urged foreigners to increase security levels.
“People have to be very careful. The Spaniards and the Japanese who were killed this week were not following the strictest possible protection rules,” he said.
Why do I have a feeling Izzat maybe is dead..
Among the people arrested or captured, is a big fish ... a major figure whose identity is being verified," said Rubai, when asked about reports that Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, Saddam's number two, had been captured or killed by US forces.
"The initial results are encouraging and very positive," he said.
Not exactly a straight answer.
The 173rd doesn't have him........therefore he was not captured. There are some missing links in this reasoning.
Thanks for pinging me!
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