U.S.-led special forces in Baghdad captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan, a former head of Iraqi intelligence, on Thursday, a U.S. general said.
"Early this morning, coalition special operations forces, supported by U.S. Marines, captured Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al- Tikriti," U.S. Army Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a regular briefing at war headquarters in Qatar.
"Barzan is... an adviser to the former regime leader with extensive knowledge of the regime's inner working. There were no friendly or enemy casualties. The capture demonstrates the coalition's commitment to relentlessly pursuing the scattered members of a fractured regime."
Brooks said Barzan, who ran Iraqi intelligence service from 1979 to 1983 and was Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva from 1988 to 1997, was captured alone in Baghdad after a tip-off by Iraqis.
Barzan was number 52 on a U.S. list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. His home west of Baghdad was targeted by six U.S. "smart bombs" last week.
Meanwhile, a British newspaper said U.S. commanders have promised to launch a raid for Saddam Hussein if they track him to a hiding place in Syria. According to the London Times, the proposal was condemned by British military officers as a breach of international law that would add to regional instability.
A senior US source at Central Command said that although troops hunting members of the Iraqi regime were under orders to respect Syria's borders, an exception would be made for Saddam.
According to the report, U.S. special forces in western Iraq have been told that they can enter Syria to grab the former president, and in all likelihood kill him, if they have 'credible intelligence' of his whereabouts. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
