Saddam VP's hideout found

2007-12-07 16:07

Baghdad - Security forces stormed a hideout belonging to Izzet al-Douri, the former Iraqi vice president under Saddam Hussein, in a village near Tikrit, 170km north of Baghdad, an Iraqi official said on Friday.

They broke into the hideout based on confirmed intelligence that al-Douri was using it to hold meetings with his aides, said the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The forces did not find al-Douri, but seized documents with information on the al-Qaeda terrorist network and other militias, their activities and the techniques used to conduct their operations in northern Iraq, the source said.

The documents also referred to the groups' objectives which involved attacking Iraqi military and police forces, but contained no reference to US troops.

The source said the police later pursued a car in which al-Dourri was believed to have been travelling, but the driver managed to escape.

They later found the car abandoned, but containing a computer with important information, small arms and other equipment, the source said.

Al-Douri was number five on the 55-wanted people list the US military had announced after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

- SAPA