U.S. Forces Arrest No. 48 on Iraq List
WASHINGTON — American forces in Iraq have detained one of the remaining most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s government, defense officials said Monday.
Muhsin Khadr Khafaji, No. 48 on the 55 most-wanted list, was turned over to U.S. troops in the Baghdad area last weekend, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not say who turned him in.
U.S. Central Command described Khafaji as the chairman of Hussein’s Baath Party in the Qadisiya governorate, a region in south-central Iraq.
In December, military officials announced that he had a $1-million bounty on his head. It was unclear whether that money would be collected.
He was the 3 of diamonds in the deck of cards the military uses to list senior figures from Hussein’s rule.
The officials said they did not know whether Khafaji was supporting Iraqi guerrillas. One official said he would be interrogated.
Khafaji’s detention leaves 11 of the 55 most wanted at large. The highest-ranking on the list is Izzat Ibrahim, who was vice chairman of the Baath Party’s Revolutionary Command Council. He is No. 6 on the list.
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