Top Iraqi army official captured by US forces

US forces captured a senior Iraqi Republican Guard official yesterday, one day after killing Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay in a four-hour gun battle.

But the bloody insurgency showed no signs of letting up, as attacks claimed the lives of two more American soldiers.

The commander of coalition forces in Iraq, Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, said the deaths of the two sons may be a “turning point” in the campaign against the remnants of Saddam’s regime.

But he warned in an interview with CNN that there may be “a spike” in attacks on US forces.

The head of the Special Republican Guard, Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti, was seized at an undisclosed location in Iraq, Sanchez told a news conference in Baghdad.

Barzan was number 11 on lists provided by US authorities.

He was also listed as the Queen of Hearts in a US deck of cards depicting the most-wanted Iraqis.

This latest detention brings to 37 the number of arrests made of the 55 top Iraqis which US-led forces are seeking to capture.