Iraqi forces hunt Saddam's former deputy

   
Iraqi Special Forces are closing in on the most senior member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle still on the run since the 2003 invasion, security sources said on Thursday.    

Troops backed by helicopters were searching for Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, head of Saddam's now-outlawed Baath party, in villages around the former ruler's hometown of Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad.    

Capturing the most prominent Baath leader would be a major victory for the Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki before provincial elections that will measure his political muscle for the 2014 parliamentary ballot.    

Douri was long believed to be living outside Iraq, and he was last seen in January in a video message encouraging Sunni Muslim protesters to resist Maliki's government.    

Maliki is facing huge Sunni rallies in western Iraq protesting against what they see as the marginalization of their minority sect since 2003. Many Sunnis feel they have been unfairly targeted for arrest by security forces.    

The Shi'ite leader has offered some concessions to protesters, especially in the so-called de-Ba'athification law - meant to keep former Baath party members out of government posts - and Iraq's tough anti-terrorism laws.    

Maliki is also under pressure from other Shi'ite parties in his coalition, who are trying to use his concessions to Sunnis for political gain in the local elections on Saturday for provincial council members.    

Douri was vice-chairman of Saddam's ruling Revolutionary Command Council until the invasion. He also headed the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order or the Naqshbandi Army formed after 2007 to fight US troops.


REUTERS