President Saddam Hussein's half-brother, Barzan al-Takriti, died yesterday morning in a US bombing of his farm, in the region of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, a family friend said.
Barzan had been placed under house arrest by Saddam on March 5th in a presidential palace in Jadriya, near Baghdad airport.
When US troops entered Baghdad, he fled to his farm in Ramadi, some 100 km away. "His family, living in Europe, told me he died as a martyr this morning," the source said.
US Central Command said earlier yesterday that Barzan had been targeted by air strikes in Ramadi with six JDAM "smart bombs".
Saddam had put him under house arrest for contesting his wish that the former Iraqi leader's younger son, Qusay, succeed him if he were killed, the friend said.
Violence broke out in Basra after a sheikh asked by British commanders to become the new leader of the province was revealed to be a former brigadier-general in Saddam's army and a one-time member of the Ba'ath party.
Several hundred protesters hurled stones at the house of Sheikh Muzahim Mustafa Kanan Tamimi as he met other local dignitaries to discuss how to restore order. The crowd accused Mr Tamimi and his tribe of collaborating with Saddam.
The sheikh's supporters armed themselves and accused the protesters, members of a rival clan, of being Ba'ath party sympathisers themselves. Eventually the protesters were dispersed by British troops.
The scene illustrated the difficulties for the coalition in finding leaders acceptable to all Iraqis. Asked yesterday why Mr Tamimi was chosen, the armed forces minister, Mr Adam Ingram, said: "We have to work with people on the ground."
It was a "fraught situation", he added, which meant British forces might have to deal with "compromised and tainted" Iraqis. "These are not easy issues," he said.
British commanders revealed earlier this week that they had met the sheikh - at the time not identified - who had offered to help restore stability in Basra, which has been beset by violent looting.
In western Iraq, near Syria, US forces were involved in intense fighting around the border town of al-Qaim.
In the capital US troops were engaged in fierce firefights in the north central area around a palace and a mosque. One marine was killed. - (Guardian Service, AFP)