Saddam’s old deputy caught

IRAQI authorities claimed yesterday to have captured Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the most wanted member of Saddam Hussein’s ousted dictatorship, but there was confusion over the report as the Iraqi defence minister said it was “baseless.”

There have been incorrect reports of al-Douri’s arrest in the past as US and Iraqi forces hunt for the man who was once one of Saddam’s most senior deputies.

Iraq’s top information official said al-Douri was seized while receiving medical treatment at a clinic near Adwar. He said DNA tests were underway.