The official said Mahmud was captured in Iraq but had no further details.
Third in power only to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his younger son, Qusai, Mahmud controlled access to Saddam and was one of the few people he is said to have trusted completely, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Mahmud may have information on the fate of Saddam and his sons, and he is thought to have details of Iraq's alleged weapons programs. U.S. officials have said they want to try Mahmud for war crimes or crimes against humanity for activities associated with his senior position in the Iraqi regime.
It is unclear whether Mahmud's capture was related to U.S. raids near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. American troops raided two farmhouses and found $8.5 million in American cash, 300 million to 400 million Iraqi dinars and an undetermined amount of British pounds and Euros, said Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division. The troops also found more than $1 million worth of gems and jewels, he said.
The troops captured one of Saddam's bodyguards and up to 50 other people believed to be tied to Saddam's security or intelligence forces or paramilitary groups, Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video news conference from his headquarters in Tikrit. The troops also found Russian-made night-vision goggles and other military equipment, as well as various Saddam paraphernalia.
Odierno said he did not know whether the cash was intended to pay bounties for attacks on American troops or to provide the Saddam loyalists with luxuries while they were in hiding.
Good thing they only used alleged weapons to kill our troops with.
This is a big fish!
This guy knows alot, "may have information" my @$$! He knows if Saddam is dead or alive. And he does know what the status is of WMDs in Iraq. No bones about it.