A man suspected to be Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who tops the Iraqi government's list of most-wanted fugitives, has been captured in Iraq, Al-Arabiya television reported Wednesday.| I'll be oiling my ululator for the rest of the evening on the off chance it's true... |
| Okay. Guess I'll toss the ululator back in the drawer... |
Al-Arabiya said the man was caught in Hamrin between the provinces of Salaheddin and Kirkuk and was being moved to Baghdad. DNA tests are being conducted to confirm his identity, the Dubai-based Saudi-owned news channel added. Abu Mohammad, described as Duri's representative in Syria, told Al-Arabiya the report is fabricated.
| Since that's likely where Izzy is, too. |
Al-Arabiya quoted "US forces" as saying the person captured "looks like" Duri but confirmation of his identity awaits DNA testing. Duri, the most senior official in the ousted Saddam Hussein regime to be still on the run, heads a 41 most-wanted list released by the Iraqi government in 2006 with a 10-million-dollar bounty. He was Saddam's number two under the former Baath regime and is considered an operational leader with close ties to anti-US insurgents.
In remarks to the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat published on Wednesday, Iraqi national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said Duri was in Syria from where he led the insurgency in Iraq. Questioned by Al-Arabiya about Duri's alleged capture, Rubaie said the Iraqi army "arrested some terrorists and armed people" during an operation near Hamrin and brought them to Baghdad. "We will conduct DNA tests to ascertain their identities. I can't confirm or deny until the tests have been conducted," he said.
Duri was number six and the king of clubs on a 55 most-wanted "deck of cards" distributed by the Pentagon at the outset of the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.