Confusion in Iraq US soldiers killed

BAGHDAD – The most wanted Saddam Hussein aide still on the run in Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has not been captured, Iraq’s interior ministry said, adding that medical checks on a man in custody showed he was not Ibrahim.

“The person that has been arrested, after appropriate medical tests, was not al-Douri but somebody related to him, who is also wanted by the state,” a statement by the ministry said. Meanwhile, attackers targeted a US convoy with a blast near the Iraqi city of Falluja yesterday, the US military said, and witnesses said as many as seven Americans were killed and several wounded.The US military confirmed the casualties.US and Iraqi forces do not have control of Falluja, a centre of the anti-US insurgency in Iraq, about 50 km west of Baghdad.An aide to prime minister Iyad Allawi said a man was in custody and tests were underway to confirm whether he was Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who was sixth on a US list of the 55 most wanted members of Saddam’s regime and had a US$10 million price on his head.Confusion reigned yesterday before the man was identified.On Sunday, the defence ministry said Ibrahim had been seized near Tikrit, Saddam’s former powerbase north of Baghdad.It has since denied making the statement.Nampa-AP-ReutersMeanwhile, attackers targeted a US convoy with a blast near the Iraqi city of Falluja yesterday, the US military said, and witnesses said as many as seven Americans were killed and several wounded.The US military confirmed the casualties.US and Iraqi forces do not have control of Falluja, a centre of the anti-US insurgency in Iraq, about 50 km west of Baghdad.An aide to prime minister Iyad Allawi said a man was in custody and tests were underway to confirm whether he was Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who was sixth on a US list of the 55 most wanted members of Saddam’s regime and had a US$10 million price on his head.Confusion reigned yesterday before the man was identified.On Sunday, the defence ministry said Ibrahim had been seized near Tikrit, Saddam’s former powerbase north of Baghdad.It has since denied making the statement.Nampa-AP-Reuters