US Captures number 29 on the Iraqi Most wanted list.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Senior defense officials confirmed Saturday that former Iraqi Minister of Interior Mahmud al-Ahmad (search), listed as number 29 on the coalition's "Iraqi Top 55" most-wanted list, was in the custody of coalition forces.

Al-Ahmad was next in line to succeed Saddam Hussein (search), following deaths of the deposed leader's sons, Uday and Qusay. Officials said Al-Ahmad surrendered in Baghdad on Friday. The capture of the once-elusive henchman brought the number of network operatives now either dead or being held by the U.S. military to 37.

The surrender also capped a busy, yet fruitful 48 hours for coalition soldiers.

Acting on a tip from a native Iraqi early Saturday, troops seized and destroyed a cache of high-powered weapons and explosives, among them 24 rocket-propelled grenades and a surface-to-air launcher missile. U.S. troops also captured 13 Saddam loyalists with 47 AK-47s, the military said.

Also on Saturday, troops came under renewed attacks that left at least four soldiers injured, as a team of FBI investigators prepared to take control of the probe into the car bombing of the Jordanian Embassy (search).

Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade (search) on patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk (search) were fired on with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms throughout the day, said Lt. Col. Bill McDonald, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division operating in the area.

Two soldiers were wounded in the explosion and were in stable condition, McDonald said. The troops returned fire, he said.

In yet another confrontation, soldiers west of Kirkuk opened fire on a car that ran a military checkpoint, wounding two Iraqis, McDonald said. The victims were evacuated to a Kirkuk hospital in stable condition, he said.

In south-central Baghdad, two soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack on their armored Humvee (search) vehicle, said Maj. Todd Mercer of the 82nd Airborne Division.

In the southern city of Basra (search), which is controlled by British troops, about 1,000 angry residents protested in the streets over the lack of power, water and gas.

Witnesses told Associated Press Television News that three British soldiers were injured by stones, and two young Iraqi boys were wounded in the melee. A British military spokesman denied any soldiers were hurt.

Thursday's bombing of the Jordanian Embassy, which killed 19 people and injured at least 50 raised fears that Al Qaeda-linked terrorists were at work in Iraq. The bombing was the first large-scale terrorist attack since Baghdad fell to U.S. forces April 9.

Authorities are looking at Ansar al-Islam, which U.S. officials claim is linked to Al Qaeda, as a potential suspect, according to Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The one organization that we have confidence and that we know is in Iraq and in the Baghdad area is Ansar al-Islam," he said. "It is unknown whether this particular organization was associated with the (bombing). Perhaps that'll become clear as we go down the road.

"But that is an Al Qaeda-related organization and one that we are focusing attention on," Schwartz said.

Fewer than a dozen FBI agents were dispatched to secure and analyze evidence. They also will train Iraqi investigators. It was not clear when the team would begin work or how long it would stay.

"We will do all we can to help the Iraqi authorities find these people and bring them to justice," L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, said in a press release distributed by the Pentagon.

The Bush administration fears Iraqi police don't have the techniques or tools to properly investigate the deadly attack, according to a senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity from Washington.

So far, American authorities have said, they do not believe terrorist groups like Ansar or any other foreign fighters have played a major role in the guerrilla war against American occupation forces.

They believe instead that the attacks are the work of remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime — his Republican Guard, Fedayeen militia and intelligence services.

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Ansar al-Islam was known for bombings and assassinations of Kurdish figures. But the group, which has included veterans of Usama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan, has not previously been linked to attacks on the scale of the embassy blast.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the group was a link between Baghdad and Al Qaeda when he made his case for war to the U.N. Security Council in February. Others have questioned whether there was any connection to Saddam Hussein's regime.

U.S. forces knocked out Ansar-al-Islam's main headquarters in northeastern Iraq early in the war. Bremer has said the group has been rebuilding in the country, with surviving members filtering back from Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

6 posted on 08/09/2003 10:17 AM PDT by Dog (: "And good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing 'This'll be the day Saddam dies...'")

Recent additions:
8/09/03 - Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad
Iraqi Minister of Interior
NOTE: He was previously reported CAPTURED ... In a July 9 news release, CENTCOM stated that Mizban Khadr Al Hadi and Mahmud Dhiyab Al-Ahmad were apprehended July 8. Al Hadi, a high-ranking Ba'ath Party official, surrendered in Baghdad. Al-Ahmad, the former interior minister, was captured. Both were on the coalition's list of "Top 55" wanted members of the previous regime, at numbers 23 and 29, respectively.
No Playing Card #54

8/04/03 - Khamis Sirhan al Muhammad
Baath Party Chairman and Commander of the Baath militia in the Karbala Governate.
NOT WIDELY REPORTED, but 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." (CENTCOM has not yet updated their website with this capture.)

Iraq's 55 17 Most Wanted Scoreboard - - and Freeper additions See the DOD website for photos. Note their joker card has an Iraqi SURNAME explanation (Revised: 8/09pm)
	Name	Position	Status
	Saddam Hussein	President of Iraq/CINC of Military	Possibly Dead
	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	Possibly DEAD [but reports in June and July said he was still alive]
	Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri	Vice Chair of the RCC, North Reg Cmdr	At large**
	Hani Abd Latif Tilfa al-Tikriti	SSO Director	At large**
	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]
	Rafi Abd Latif al Tilfah	DGS Director	At large
	Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti	IIS Director	At large**
	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	At large
	Rukan Razuki abd al-Ghafar al-Majid Sulayman al-Tikriti	Chief of Tribal Affairs	At large
	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	At large
	Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad	Minister of the Interior, He was previously reported CAPTURED on July 9th by Centcom	~~Captured 7/09/03~~ In Custody 8/09/02
	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 **
	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
	Muhammad Zimam Abd al-Razzaq al-Sadun	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ta'mim & Ninawa Gov	At large
	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
	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.	At large
	Rashid Taan Kazim	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Anbar Governate	At large
	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	At large(?)An Iraqi TV report said he was KILLED in the battle for Najaf
	Khamis Sirhan al Muhammad	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Karbala Governate	Captured 8/04/03
	Husayn Al Awadi	BP Chmn & Cmdr BP Militia Ninawa Governate	Captured 6/10/03
- - - Freeper Additions - - -
	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
	Abdul Rahman Yasin	Indicted fugitive from 1993 WTC bombing, $25 Million reward	At large
	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
	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-spades) 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. 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.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.