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U.S.
Forces Capture Top Saddam Aide
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Mahmud
(R) is shown with Hussein and bodyguard Hussein Kamel in an
undated photo
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BAGHDAD,
June 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - U.S. forces in Iraq have
captured Saddam Hussein's presidential secretary, Abid Hamid Mahmud, the
most senior member of the former regime yet to be seized, U.S. military
officials said Wednesday, June 18.
U.S.
Central Command said Mahmud, a distant cousin of Saddam and responsible
for his security, was captured Monday, June 16, "in Iraq," but
gave no details, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
The
capture of Mahmud brings under U.S. control a pivotal player who was in
a position to know what happened to Saddam and his weapons of mass
destruction, officials here said Wednesday.
Mahmud,
who was so close to Saddam that some considered him the regime's real
number two, is believed to be one of the few people, if not the only
person, who knew the president's whereabouts at all times.
A
lieutenant general, he was handpicked by Saddam from his elite bodyguard
unit to become his personal secretary and national security adviser,
giving him unparalleled access to the regime's most closely guarded
secrets, officials said.
"He
was Saddam's key adviser and his responsibility included overseeing
basically any issue of importance to Saddam, particularly regime
security," said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
The
U.S. Central Command, which announced his capture, made him the "ace
of diamonds"
in its deck of playing cards featuring Iraq's 55 most wanted former
officials. He was number four on the list after Saddam and his sons,
Uday and Qusay.
A
U.S. defense official, also speaking on condition that he not be
identified, said Mahmud "is probably one of (Saddam's) most trusted
people, and there is a good chance he knows quite a bit."
A
British government dossier on top Iraqi officials said Mahmud "is
regarded by some as the real number-two figure in the Iraqi
leadership," as he controlled access to Saddam and could override
government decisions.
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Mahmud
is the "ace of diamonds" in the U.S. Iraq's 55 most
wanted deck
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That
could make him key to the United States' frustrated search for alleged
weapons of mass destruction, as well as to its efforts to account for or
capture Saddam if he is still alive.
The
circumstances surrounding Mahmud's capture were not disclosed, but it
came amid a series of raids north of Baghdad.
"We
continue to work hard, and I believe over the next three to four days,
you will hear much more about the number of senior Iraqi individuals we
have detained here over the last couple of days," said Major
General Ray Odierno, the commander of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry
Division.
Raids
on two farmhouses near Tikrit,
Saddam's hometown, turned up millions of dollars in cash, jewels and
gems, as well as sniper weapons, equipment and uniforms associated with
Saddam's personal guards.
Among
the 15 to 20 people seized in the raid was a former bodyguard of Saddam,
said Odierno, who did not identify him.
The
raid netted 8.5 million dollars in cash, 300 million to 400 million
dinars and uncounted euros and British pounds. A man tracked fleeing the
scene by an unmanned spy plane was captured in a truck with 800,000
dollars.
Odierno
claimed that former members of the regime appeared to be paying poor
Iraqis a bounty for each American soldier killed.
More
than a dozen U.S. troops have been killed by hostile fire since May 1,
when major combat operations were declared over, raising concerns about
a swelling resistance.
But
Odierno said the attacks were "militarily insignificant" and a
sign of desperation as U.S. forces turn up the pressure on members of
the former regime and its security forces.
"I
think they're becoming less and less organized," he said. "The
more money we seize, the more individuals we take into custody, we
continue to really, I think, have an impact on the medium to senior
level of the individuals that remain," he said.
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