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Izzatâs aide detained
US troops detained the private secretary of Saddam Husseinâs fugitive number two, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, during a massive sweep in the Iraqi town of Hawijah today, its police chief Awad al-Obeidi said. "Saad Mohammed al-Douri was arrested in a house in the Hawijah area, where he was hiding," Obeidi said in Iraqâs northern oil capital by telephone.Sounds like a relative, or at least tribal member. Kirkukâs police chief, General Turhan Yusef, said $US40,000 was found in the manâs possession, which was suspected of being used to finance attacks on the US-led coalition. Ha, got his walking around money. Across north-central Iraq, more than 100 people were arrested in what the police general described as a "one-off operation aimed at finding Izzat Ibrahim based on specific intelligence". We got a hot tip and jumped on it. Six Iraqis were wounded as several villages put up resistance to the massive cordon and search sweep. "Yankee dog, go h.....WACK!" "What did you hit him so hard for, Sarge?" "Iâm not a Yankee, Iâm a Red Sox fan." Yusef said the blockade around Hawijah, a town of some 80,000 people, was finally lifted at 9.45pm local time more than 16 hours after it was imposed. An official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the dominant Kurdish faction in Kirkuk, said a former general in the disbanded Iraqi army was also arrested in the raids, along with Hamid Saad, a senior official of Saddamâs former ruling Baath party in charge of youth and student affairs. The official, Jalal Jawrar, said an arms cache and attack plans were found in the generalâs home. Other detainees included former member of the ultra-loyalist Saddam Fedayeen militia and middle-ranking army officers. Didnât get Izzy, but we didnât go away empty handed either. Posted by: Steve 2003-12-02 |
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