A former Saddam Hussein loyalist who was on a US military “most wanted” list in Iraq has been freed from jail after he was cleared of helping the former regime punish opponents by draining the country’s marshlands.

US forces moved a step closer to the most wanted man in Saddam Hussein’s regime yesterday, detaining his four nephews in a pre-dawn raid and capturing another top fugitive thought to be a paymaster in the anti-coalition insurgency.