Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
DUR, Iraq, Nov 14 (AFP) - US and Iraqi forces searched the home village of
Saddam Hussein's former right-hand man Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri on Monday amid
conflicting reports over the death of the fugitive said by United States to
be the main bankroller of the insurgency.
"More than 600 Iraqi and US soldiers closed off access to the village at 7
am (0400 GMT) and started to search houses," according to an Iraqi army
officer in Dur, Sergeant Khalil al-Duri.
"Searches began in the Mawashta district which is home to relatives of Izzat
Ibrahim," he sadi.
On Sunday, the US-led coalition said 10 million dollars remained available
as bounty for information leading to Ibrahim's capture, an announcement that
appeared to cast doubt on reports of the 63-year-old's death.
Saddam's outlawed former ruling Baath party issued a statement Friday saying
that Ibrahim, the most senior member of the ousted regime still at large,
had died of leukemia.
But a website also claiming links to the Baath party on Sunday apologized
for what it described as the false reporting of Ibrahim's death, claiming he
was still alive.
Saddam Hussein's former right-hand man Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri on Monday amid
conflicting reports over the death of the fugitive said by United States to
be the main bankroller of the insurgency.
"More than 600 Iraqi and US soldiers closed off access to the village at 7
am (0400 GMT) and started to search houses," according to an Iraqi army
officer in Dur, Sergeant Khalil al-Duri.
"Searches began in the Mawashta district which is home to relatives of Izzat
Ibrahim," he sadi.
On Sunday, the US-led coalition said 10 million dollars remained available
as bounty for information leading to Ibrahim's capture, an announcement that
appeared to cast doubt on reports of the 63-year-old's death.
Saddam's outlawed former ruling Baath party issued a statement Friday saying
that Ibrahim, the most senior member of the ousted regime still at large,
had died of leukemia.
But a website also claiming links to the Baath party on Sunday apologized
for what it described as the false reporting of Ibrahim's death, claiming he
was still alive.