The US military denied reports today that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the most wanted man in Iraq after Saddam Hussein, had been captured in a raid.
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| Ibrahim pictured on the American's
deck of most wanted |
"He was definitely not captured in today's mission," Major Doug Vincent of the 173rd Airborne Brigade told reporters who accompanied troops on the raid in Hawija, near Kirkuk.
Earlier, several high-level sources in Iraq's Governing Council said they had been informed that Ibrahim was killed or captured in the operation, which began this morning and was still going on in the evening.
The US military said last month Ibrahim was directly involved in co-ordinating attacks on US troops and put a $10 million price on his head. A reward of $25 million is still on offer for information leading to the capture or death of Saddam.
A veteran political ally of Saddam's, he is sixth on the US list of the 55 top Iraqi fugitives, but all those in the top five except for Saddam have been killed or captured.
Meanwhile, a US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb near the tense town of Samarra this morning. He is the 189th to die in fighting since President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1st.