<p>BAGHDAD — Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former Iraqi vice president known as "Saddam's knuckles" for his ruthlessness against regime enemies, was captured by Kurdish fighters yesterday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and turned over to U.S. forces.</p>
<p>Ramadan once was considered Iraq's second-most-powerful man, but his influence declined in the later years of Saddam Hussein's regime. He was No. 20 on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqi fugitives and the "10 of Diamonds" in the Pentagon's deck of cards depicting former regime figures.</p>