Iraqi officials say they believe government forces have killed Saddam Hussein’s former deputy who later allied himself with Islamic State militants - Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri.
Al-Douri was known as the “king of clubs” in the deck of playing cards issued to help US troops identify key members of Saddam’s regime.
Salahuddin province Governor Raed al-Jabouri says soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen killed al-Douri early on Friday in an operation east of the city of Tikrit. A graphic photo issued by the government purports to be of al-Douri’s corpse.
Senior regional commander, Gen. Haider al-Basri, told Iraqi state TV that al-Douri and nine bodyguards were killed by gunshots while riding in a convoy. DNA tests are underway to confirm the identity of the body.
Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces have gained full control over a contested area south of the country’s largest oil refinery on Friday as part of ongoing operations to secure the rest of Salahuddin province following the recapturing of Tikrit, a senior Iraqi military official said. General Ayad al-Lahabi, a commander with the Salahuddin Command Center, said the military, backed by coalition airstrikes and Shiite and Sunni militias dubbed the Popular Mobilisation Forces, gained control of the towns of al-Malha and al-Mazraah, located 3 kilometers south of the Beiji oil refinery, killing at least 160 militants with the IS group. Al-Lahabi said security forces are trying to secure two corridors around the refinery itself after the Sunni militants launched a large-scale attack on the complex earlier this week, hitting the refinery walls with explosive-laced Humvees.
bombs kill 12 people in Iraq
Baghdad: Iraqi authorities say bombings targeting public places and pro-government Sunni fighters have killed 12 people around the capital, Baghdad. Police officials say a bomb blast on a commercial street Friday killed 4 people and wounded nine others in Baghdad’s southeastern New Baghdad district.
Also, a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in Baghdad’s Dora neighbourhood, killing three shoppers. Another bomb blast near a cafe killed three people in the capital’s southeastern suburbs.
Police say a roadside bomb exploded near a patrol of Sahwa fighters in southern Baghdad, killing two members. The Sunni Sahwa fighters joined forces with US troops at the height of the Iraq insurgency to fight Sunni militants.
Medical officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to release the information.