| The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced the arrest of 62-year-old General Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former vice president and deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (chaired by Saddam Hussein). The Americans put ad-Douri on the list of the most wanted leaders of the overthrown regime at number six and placed a reward of $10 million on his head. It is known that Saddam’s associate was distinguished by extraordinary cruelty and was involved in the brutal poisoning with mustard gas in 1988 of 5 thousand Kurds in the city of Hallabja . The Pentagon has repeatedly stated that al-Douri is one of the main organizers of attacks on Western coalition troops. He was captured yesterday in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, 160 km north of Baghdad. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, during the military operation to capture ad-Douri, about 70 of his militants were killed and approximately 80 more were captured. Attempts to capture or physically destroy Saddam's "right hand" were made repeatedly. In November 2003, his wife and daughter were arrested “for questioning,” and in January of this year, four nephews. Previously, false information about al-Douri's arrest was received more than once. Therefore, the Iraqi authorities are talking about their intention to “clearly identify” the captive by taking a blood test from him. According to some reports, in the medical record available to the investigation, he was diagnosed with leukemia. The US command in Iraq has so far refrained from confirming reports of al-Douri's arrest. Alexey SLOBODIN
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