This is not the first time Iraqi officials claimed to have killed or captured Douri. However, Khdhayer Almurshidy, a spokesman for Iraq's former Baath party, told Iraq's Al-Hadath television that the reports were false. The Iraqi governor said Douri was considered a "mastermind" of the IS militant group. He disappeared since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and was widely rumored to be in hiding in northern Iraq. Iraqi officials said DNA tests will be conducted to confirm his identity.ĭouri was officially the number 2 man in Iraq's ruling hierarchy during Saddam's rule. The operation by government soldiers and allied Shi'ite militias is aimed at securing the rest of the province after IS militants were pushed out of Tikrit.Ī series of graphic images purported to be of Douri's corpse were issued by the government later on April 17. Jabouri said the operation was carried out in the Hamrin area near al Alam in Salahuddin province, but that Iraqi forces did not know Douri was there beforehand. Amongst the bodies was Douri's," said Salahuddin Governor Raed al-Jabouri. Three of them were suicide bombers and blew themselves up. "A group of security forces went and surrounded the area and those terrorists were killed. The general didn't elaborate on why the Iraqi forces opened fire at the convoy. Senior Iraqi General Haider al-Basri told Iraqi state TV that Douri and nine bodyguards were killed by Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militias while riding in a convoy. troops identify key members of Saddam's regime after the 2003 invasion. Nicknamed "the iceman" for his humble origins selling blocks of ice, Douri was known as the "king of clubs" in the deck of playing cards issued to help U.S. Local and military officials said Ezzat al-Douri was killed in the Talal Hamreen Mountains, east of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit in the Salahuddin Province. Iraqi officials say they believe that late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's former deputy and alleged mastermind of the Islamic State (IS) group was killed in a wide-scale military operation in central Iraq on April 17. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.Įzzat al-Douri, a former top aide to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iraq: Saddam aide and alleged IS mastermind 'killed' near Tikrit, 17 April 2015, available at:
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