Top Saddam regime fugitive al-Douri arrested

MSNBC ^ | 09/05/04 | MSNBC

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Can we believe this line?????:

still on the run in a bloody raid in which 70 of his supporters were killed and 80 captured, the Iraqi government said on Sunday.

That is a lot of the militants killed.....they didn't run very well....

[treeclimber]

Because of the way the Old media decides what info I need, I get my news here and other sites on the internet.

As you say, with all due respect, we really dont need wall to wall coverage of a category 2 hurricane. I know it will do some damage, but it's approaching overkill, cry wolf and all the other metaphors Zell could come up with.

[TexKat]

Coming up on MSNBC: Alex Witt to give an update.

[Grampa Dave]

This is really interesting.

Hopefully when we get back from church later this afternoon, we will know who was captured and why such a strong protective force was with him.

We have captured the bankroll/treasure operation for the islamofascist traitors.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I see you are catching up ....this is a rather confused story, except that it sure looks like we caught a biggie, we just don't have proof positive as yet...but to kill 70 militants and capture 80?????? ................ this is a damn big deal......

[MEG33]

It has been a morning of ups and downs..I'll just wait and be patient.

[BOBTHENAILER]

"except that it sure looks like we caught a biggie, we just don't have proof positive as yet...but to kill 70 militants and capture 80?????? ................ this is a damn big deal......"

You're both right. Nobody but an extremely HVT gets 150 militant thugs for protection.

PS My apologies for all past non-responses to pings. Nasty legal battles have kept me off FR and email for a few months. Be back sporadically

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

New Report:

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday September 5, 11:49 PM

Iraqi forces capture last giant of ousted Saddam regime

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AFP Photo

A sickly Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri was captured after a deadly gun battle in his hometown north of Baghdad, bringing to justice the last giant of Saddam Hussein's regime after a year-and-a-half manhunt, officials said.

Iraq's national guard closed in on Ibrahim, stricken with leukemia, as he received a blood transfusion at a medical clinic in his birthplace of Ad-Dawr on Saturday, interior ministry spokesman Colonel Adnan Abdelrahman told AFP.

The national guard, backed by US helicopters, pounced on Ibrahim as he left the clinic, said Abdallah Juburi, national guard commander in the nearby city of Tikrit.

Ibrahim's men fought to the death, refusing to surrender their boss, who has a 10 million dollar price on his head, in the very same place where Saddam was captured by US troops on December 13.

"He had many militants around him who tried to rescue him. Initial reports say there were around 70 people killed or wounded in these clashes," Abdelrahman said.

People on the streets of Ad-Dawr vowed to take revenge for the 62-year-old hometown hero who started life as an ice-seller.

The US military had no immediate comment on the arrest.

Ibrahim, accused by Washington last fall of masterminding an unholy alliance between Saddam loyalists and Islamic militants, is the most high-profile capture since Saddam was nabbed.

Iraqi State Minister Qassem Daoud told reporters in Kuwait that Saddam and his "clique," including Ibrahim, will begin before elections due in January.

US military officials have down-played Ibrahim's significance in recent months, dismissing him as too ill to play a powerful role in the resistance.

But Ibrahim laid the foundation for the Islamic extremist fervour that has come to dominate the post-Saddam Iraqi insurgency due to his work in the 1990s overseeing the Baath party's abandonment of secular principles for the language of anti-US fundamentalism.

Since Saddam's arrest nine months ago, many of the old regime's army and intelligence units have taken up the banner of religious war, either from convenience or out of true conviction.

The capture was a huge boon for the Iraqi security forces, who have regularly been attacked by insurgents, suffering losses such as a car bombing in Kirkuk on Saturday that killed 14 police and three civilians.

"We considered this to be the main achievement for the national guard and it will be a great boost to the people of Iraq," Abdelrahman said.

In other developments, Iraqi and US forces pressed ahead with some of their most agressive action against the insurgency in months.

US troops battled rebels in the northern town of Tall Afar for a second day while Iraqi and US forces arrested 500 suspected militants in the heartland of the Sunni Muslim insurgency.

Iraqi police and national guardsmen, assisted by US forces, raided the town of Latifiya, 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Baghdad, marking the first time the interim government has taken decisive action against a Sunni Muslim stronghold since it was sworn in on June 28.

Twelve policemen were killed and 17 people wounded in the operation, with 500 suspected "terrorists" arrested and a large haul of weapons seized, including five barrels of TNT, an Iraqi intelligence officer said.

The town is part of a virtual no-go zone for US troops, Iraqi police and foreigners and has earned the name "Fallujah's second head" after the Sunni rebel strongold west of Baghdad.

The spot is where two French journalists, held by a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq, disappeared on August 20.

A leading radical Iraqi cleric Sheikh Mehdi al-Sumaidaie issued a fatwa or Islamic decree demanding the immediate release of the two reporters -- Le Figaro correspondent Georges Malbrunot and RFI reporter Christian Chesnot.

The cleric, an influential figure among extremist Sunni Muslim groups, also lambasted the Iraqi government and US forces for staging the raid in Latifiya, saying it had harmed efforts for their release.

US troops and insurgents also fought for a second day in Tall Afar, which the military claims serves as a way station for militants slipping into Iraq from Syria.

Fighting erupted after gunmen fired on a US army convoy outside the town, 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of Mosul, police said.

US soldiers and Iraqi national guardsmen then poured into Tall Afar and clashes broke out in the town centre, lasting for about two hours before the US and Iraqi forces withdrew, a police official said, adding that US helicopters opened fire on insurgents.

The streets were quiet later Sunday.

Elsewhere, the body of an Egyptian was found Sunday on a road north of the Iraqi town of Tikrit, in the latest in a string of gruesome murders of foreigners suspected of working with the Americans in Iraq.

Two Iraqis were killed and five wounded Sunday in a US air raid near the town of Balad, north of Baghdad, medical sources said.

The US military did not confirm any aerial attack but said it raided the area after one of its bases came under attack.

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

We've been missing you!!!

[MEG33]

Report on MSNBC is that US says we don't have him...

[Allegra]

This is getting nuts. We're getting the same spotty back and forth stuff here.

Of course, I don't have access to any better sources than you do on this. Just a couple of news channels that focus more on the Middle East.

[woofie]

Who to believe?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I saw that...... seems like the militants were protecting some HMT.... so who might it have been???

__________________________________________________________________________

Buried in the Reuters report just above we have this:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

In other developments, Iraqi and US forces pressed ahead with some of their most agressive action against the insurgency in months.

US troops battled rebels in the northern town of Tall Afar for a second day while Iraqi and US forces arrested 500 suspected militants in the heartland of the Sunni Muslim insurgency.

Iraqi police and national guardsmen, assisted by US forces, raided the town of Latifiya, 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Baghdad, marking the first time the interim government has taken decisive action against a Sunni Muslim stronghold since it was sworn in on June 28.

Twelve policemen were killed and 17 people wounded in the operation, with 500 suspected "terrorists" arrested and a large haul of weapons seized, including five barrels of TNT, an Iraqi intelligence officer said.

The town is part of a virtual no-go zone for US troops, Iraqi police and foreigners and has earned the name "Fallujah's second head" after the Sunni rebel strongold west of Baghdad.

The spot is where two French journalists, held by a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq, disappeared on August 20.

500 arrested?.........

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

.Could we be the final stages of really taking out the final remaining fighters?????

Perhaps we now have enough human intelligence that we can set traps and capture them where they are congregating....???

[TexKat]

MSNBC's update report still remain the same.

Mike Kirsch reporting from Iraq reported that the Iraqi government states that they captured al-Douri at a clinic near his hometown of Tikrit, but has in the past reported that they had captured al-Douri which turned out not to be true.

Kirsch stated that the U.S. has no knowledge of the capture of al Douri.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

HMT should be HVT...High Value Targets....

Sorry!!!

[Future Useless Eater]

Dirty Dozen   Nasty Nine !

Recent additions:
        9/05/04 - Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri
        Vice Chair of the RCC, North Reg Cmdr
       
        Captured! (finally!!!)

Iraq's 55 9 Most Wanted Scoreboard - - and Freeper additions See the DOD website for photos. Note their joker card has an Iraqi SURNAME explanation         (Revised: 09/05am)
	Name	Position	Status
	Saddam Hussein	President of Iraq/CINC of Military	CAPTURED! 12/14/03
	Qusay Hussein	SSO, SRG & RGFC Commander	KILLED 7/22/03
	Uday Hussein	Saddam Fedayeen Commander [the older "crazy rapist" son]	KILLED 7/22/03
	Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti	Presidential Secretary (WMD Release Authority)	Captured 6/18/03
	Ali Hasan al-Majid [aka: "Chemical Ali"]	Pres. Advisor, Fmr South Reg Cmdr	Captured 8/21/03
	Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri	Vice Chair of the RCC, North Reg Cmdr	Captured 9/05/04 $10 Million Reward
	Hani Abd Latif Tilfa al-Tikriti	SSO Director	At large** $1 Million Reward
	Aziz Salih al-Numan	BP Regional Cmdr/Cmdr BP Militia Reg Cmd	Captured 5/22/03 [Earlier reports of his death were bogus]
	Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI [aka Saddam's "Shiite Thug"]	Central Euphrates Reg Cmdr "One of Saddam's most ruthless war criminals" -Clinton Admin	Captured 4/21/03
	Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti	RG Secretary General	In Custody 5/17/03
	Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti	SRG Commander	Captured 7/23/03
	Muzahim Sa'b Hasan al-Tikriti	Air Defense Force Commander	Captured 4/23/03
	Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar Muhammad al-Tikriti	Armed Forces Chief of Staff	Captured 5/12/03
	Sayf al-Din Fulayyih Hassan Taha al-Rawi	RGFC Chief	At large(?)** [or maybe dead? see note2] $1 Million Reward
	Rafi Abd Latif al Tilfah	DGS Director	At large $1 Million Reward
	Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti	IIS Director	At large** $1 Million Reward
	Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti	Air Force Commander	Captured 6/14/03
	Latif Nussayif al-Jasim al-Dulaymi	Dep Chmn Baath Party	Captured 6/10/03
	Abd al Tawab Mullah Huwaysh	OMI Director (WMD Production)	Captured 5/02/03
	Taha Yasin RAMADAN al-Jizrawi	Vice President	Captured 8/19/03
	Rukan Razuki abd al-Ghafar al-Majid Sulayman al-Tikriti	Chief of Tribal Affairs	At large $1 Million Reward
	Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti	Deputy Chief of Tribal Affairs [Saddam's son-in-law]	In Custody 4/20/03
	Mizban Khadr Hadi	RCC Member, Reg CDR Central Euphrates Region U.S. Army's V Corps headquarters said Mizban Khadr Hadi, ... was captured Thursday [5/01/03] in the area of Baghdad controlled by the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division.	Captured 5/01/03 In Custody 7/09/03
	Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF	Vice President and RCC Member	Captured 5/02/03
	Tariq Mikhail AZIZ	Deputy Prime Minister	In Custody 4/24/03
	Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti	Governor of Basrah Governate	In Custody 4/29/03
	Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi	Dep Prime Minister, Economics & Finance Min.	Captured 4/19/03
	Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai	Minister of Defense	In Custody 9/19/03
	Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad	Minister of the Interior, He was previously reported CAPTURED on July 9th by Centcom	Captured 7/09/03 In Custody 8/09/03
	Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi	Al Quds Force Chief of Staff	Captured 6/05/03
	Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib	DMI Director	Captured 4/23/03
	Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Sadi	Presidential Scientific Adviser/NMD Dir Gen [chemical and biological programs]	In Custody 4/12/03
	Amir Rashid Muhammad al-Ubaydi	Former Oil Minister [aka "Missle Man" married to "Dr. Germ"]	In Custody 4/28/03
	Husam Muhammad AMIN al-Yasin	National Monitoring Director	Captured 4/27/03
	Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih	Minister of Trade	Captured 4/23/03
	Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Maternal Half Brother	At large ** $1 Million Reward
	Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Half Brother	Captured 4/13/03
	Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti	Baath Party, Saddam Half Brother	Captured 4/16/03
	Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash	Party Youth & Trade Bureau Chairman	In Custody 5/05/03
	Abd al-Baqi abd al-Karim Abdallah al-Sadun	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Baghdad	At large $1 Million Reward
	Muhammad Zimam Abd al-Razzaq al-Sadun	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ta'mim & Ninawa Gov	Captured 2/15/04 $1 Million Reward
	Samir abd al-Aziz al-Najim	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Diyal Gov.	Captured 4/17/03
	Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur	Min of Higher Education & Scientific Research	Captured 4/20/03
	Yahya Abdallah al-Ubaydi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Basrah Gov.	At large $1 Million Reward
	Sa'd Abd al-Majid al-Faysal	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Salah ad Din Gov.	Captured 5/27/03
	Sayf al-Din al-Mashhadani	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Muthanna Gov.	Captured 5/27/03
	Fadil Mahmud Gharib (aka: Gharib Muhammad Fazel) al-Mashaikh	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Babil/Karbala Gov.	Captured 5/13/03
	Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Qadasiyah Gov.	Captured 2/09/04 $1 Million Reward
	Rashid Taan Kazim	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Anbar Governate	At large $1 Million Reward
	Ugla Abid Saqr al-Kubaysi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Maysan Governate	In Custody 5/20/03
	Ghazi Hammud al-Ubaydi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Wasit Gov.	In Custody 5/07/03
	Adil Abdallah Mahdi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Dhi Qar Governate	Captured 5/15/03
	Nayif Shindakh Thamir	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia - Salah ad Din Governate Long ago, an Iraqi TV report said he was KILLED in the battle for Najaf. - - - Apparently, Centcom now believes he is dead. NO Jan'04 reward was issued. (Centcom status page still lists him as no status)	[Believed DEAD] As of 1-14-2004, Central Command began quoting Iraqi TV that he was killed.
	Khamis Sirhan al Muhammad { He was first reported captured on August 8th: per FoxNews: "Senior defense officials said Monday morning that No. 54 of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis has been taken into custody -- Khamis Sirhan al Muhammad, a Baath Party chairman and commander of the Baath militia in the Karbala Governate. Muhammad was captured in raids over the weekend, along with another on the wider list of 200."}	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Karbala Governate { CENTCOM never updated him on their website, then in January offered a $1Million reward, and then reported he was captured 1/11/2004.}	Captured 8/04/03 Captured 1/11/04 {this time for SURE!}
	Husayn Al Awadi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ninawa Governate	Captured 6/10/03
- - - Freeper Additions - - - leading al-Qaeda & and Iraqi insurgents [new black list of 32]
	Usama Bin Laden born: Saudi Arabia	"Ace of PIGS" Aka: Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin Wanted for numerous crimes against humanity	At large $25 Million Reward.
	Ayman Al-Zawahiri born: Egypt	*indicted along with Bin Laden by a grand jury in New York in 1999 for embassy bombings, *named as a prime suspect in the 9/11 mass murders *considered to have masterminded several terrorist operations in Egypt. *Al-Zawahiri was sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian military court. *Al-Zawahiri is believed to now serve as a spiritual advisor and doctor to Usama Bin Laden	At large $25 Million Reward.
	Saif Al-Adel born: Egypt	*thought to be affiliated with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and a high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda. *Al-Adel is wanted in connection with numerous 1998 bombings of US Embassies.	At large $25 Million Reward.
	Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi born: Jordan	*was named as the link between Iraq and Al Qaeda. *believed to be a close associate of Usama Bin Laden and Saif Al-Adel. *A poisons expert; ran a poison and explosives training camp	At large $5 10 Million Reward. increased Feb 2004
	Abdul Rahman Yasin born: Bloomington,IN (US citizen)	Indicted fugitive from 1993 WTC bombing. Has a long history with Iraq	At large $5 Million Reward.
	Mohammed Yunis al-Ahmad	A former top Baath Party official. Wanted for significant anti-coalition activities in Iraq.	At large $1 Million Reward.
	Lt.Gen. Hakam Hassan Ali al-Tikriti	wanted for insurgency activities former commander of the military's helicopter forces and an adviser to the Iraqi General Staff	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Maj.Gen. Ismael al Rawi	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Maj.Gen. Fawz Mohammed Mutlak	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Nuhad Naji al Azzarsi aka: Nuhad Naji Al Azawai	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Ahmed QaQa al Ubaydi aka: Kaka al Ubaydi	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Khalid Ahmed Sultan aka: Sultan Ramadan	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
	Ghazwan al Kubaisi aka: Gazwon Sabty Faj al Kobaisy	wanted for insurgency activities	At large $200,000 Reward.
Other Iraqis wanted for insurgency activities: Mohammed Mahmoud Eshlah Salwan Ibrahim Umar al Musalat Hussein Ali Tahah Abed Dawood Sulayman Moyad Abood al Jumali Hamid al-Mutlak Brig. Gen. Abid Daud Khalifawy Hiene Amin Rashid Saloh al-Samerai Alaa al Sammari Firas al Dulaymi Khalid Kafi Flaih al Ani Kareem Jahed al Azzawi Ali Ahmad al-Mashadani Mohammad Fadil al Damarrai Thabit Shaker al Douri Moaad Shifeek Ali Firas Mashadani Kareem Mustah al Dulaymi Satam Hamid Khalaf al Jabouri Saad Hamad Shohab Nadem Khalef al Marsumi Mohammad Khalif al Ulayian QaQa Khidr
- - - other Freeper Additions - - -
	Hassan Ghul born: Pakistan	a facilitator known in terrorist circles as "the Gatekeeper" who moved money and people around the Middle East, Africa and possibly beyond. Officials said that Ghul has extensive contacts in Al Qaeda and wider terrorist communities	Captured 1/23/04
	Farouk Hijazi	#3 in Mukhabarat Iraqi intelligence ["biggest fish so far" -CIA]	Captured 4/25/03
	["unnamed associate of"] Abu Musab Zarqawi	a leading Al Qaeda operative	Captured 4/29/03
	Abu Abbas	Convicted Terrorist/Murderer - Leader Palestine Liberation Front	Captured 4/15/03
	Ahmed Walid Raguib al-Baz	Terrorist - 1st Lieutenant Palestine Liberation Front	Killed 3/20/03
	Khala Khadr Al-Salahat	Member of the Abul Nidal terrorist organization	In Custody 4/18/03
	Husam Al-Yememi	a top deputy of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi who is believed to link Iraq directly to Al Qaeda.	Captured 1/22/04
	Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani	former Iraq Consul, met with Mohammed Atta in Prague shortly before 9/11	Captured 7/02/03
	Ahmad Hikmat Shakir	an Iraqi national and al-Qaeda operative, with connections to the 1993 WTC bombing, a Jan 2000 al Qaeda summit in Malaysia, the Oct 2000 USS Cole bombing, and the 9/11 mass murder. (Newsweek) Shakir fled back to Baghdad just before the war.	At large three months after he was detained in 2002, Shakir was "inexplicably" released by Jordanian authorities - and he promptly vanished
	Ali Hussein Habib	Iraqi airforce general	Killed by the regime ~3/20/03
	Khaled Abdallah	a senior official of Saddam's Mukhabarat secret police	In Custody 4/20/03
	Major Khalid Hmood	Head of Iraqi intelligence during the war and one of Saddam's top bodyguards,	In Custody 4/20/03
	Salim Sa'id Khalaf al-Jumayli	former Chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service American Desk	Captured 4/23/03
	"Son of Ham" [apple falls close to the tree]	Son of Hamza (Q-of-Spades - one of Saddam's most ruthless war criminals)	Captured 4/21/03
	Luay Khayrallaha [Saddam's brother-in-law]	#152 on the top 200 most-wanted list. Iraqi intelligence and security leader	Captured 5/19/03
	Mulhana Hamood Abdul Jabar [Saddam's brother-in-law]	caught with $300,000, three AK-47 rifles, and a rocket-propelled grenade	Captured 5/25/03
	Jaffar al-Jaffer	physicist & father of Iraq's nuclear WMD program	In Custody 4/13/03
	Imad Husayn Abdallah al-Ani	former VX nerve agent developer	In Custody 4/18/03
	Rihab Taha [aka "Dr. Germ"]	architect of Iraq's bio WMD program	In Custody 5/12/03
	Mohammed Saeed Kazim al-Sahaf [aka: "Comical Ali"] [aka: "Baghdad Bob"]	Minister of Information [wanted for DNC spokesperson]	Captured 6/25/03 [reportedly questioned by U.S. forces and released] On Administrative Leave
	**  Nine fugitives supposedly hiding in Syria? This seems to have been a smokescreen as FOUR have since been caught in or near Baghdad.           Note2: Also, Al-Rawi (J-of-clubs) was reported by an Islamic newspaper as murdered by Saddam                 and Qusay on 4/08/03... one day AFTER the bombing of Saddam at the restaurant.                 [IMO, this is MUCH more believable now that we KNOW both Saddam and Qusay survived that restaurant blast] If someone else updates this list, please bump the revision at the top and ping FL_Engineer You can click here to see if there is a pointer to a newer revision.

   

[Future Useless Eater]

...per Iraqi Defense Ministry ...not yet confirmed by US forces, but widely published.

- 3-of-a-kind ...

---

Dirty Dozen   Nasty Nine UPDATED here -
Iraq's 55 9 Most Wanted Scoreboard

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[Allegra]

Could we be the final stages of really taking out the final remaining fighters?????

Perhaps we now have enough human intelligence that we can set traps and capture them where they are congregating....???

From your lips to God's ears...

[Future Useless Eater]

...fixed the LINK

---

...per Iraqi Defense Ministry ...not yet confirmed by US forces, but widely published.

- 3-of-a-kind ...

---

Dirty Dozen   Nasty Nine UPDATED here -
Iraq's 55 9 Most Wanted Scoreboard

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Don't update your chart just yet, his capture is in serious doubt!!!!