Top Iraqi general surrenders
A leading former member of Iraq’s Republican Guard and cousin of ousted president Saddam Hussein has surrendered, the US military said on Saturday.
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| General Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan Al-Tikriti, one of the most senior Iraqi officials in US custody |
General Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan Al-Tikriti – a cousin of ousted president Saddam Hussein and secretary general of the guard – is reported to have surrendered in Baghdad.
He is number 10 on the United States’ list of the 55 most-wanted members of the former Iraqi Government. Sultan is the second high ranking official to be taken into custody in recent days and is currently one of the most senior Iraqi officials.
US officials say more than half of those on the list have now either been caught or have turned themselves in.
They are currently being actively interrogated and are expected to be tried in Iraqi courts at a later date, according American officials.
A statement issued by the US Central Command gave few details as to the circumstances of his surrender.
In other developments:
- The remains of up 600 Kuwaiti prisoners are uncovered in a mass grave near the Iraqi town of Habbaniya, south-west of Baghdad
- US commander in the region, Major General Ray Odierno told the Associated Press that the northern oil city of Kirkuk is to become the latest city in Iraq – after Mosul and Umm Qasr – to install a new city council.
- At least three people were killed and several injured in shootouts between Arabs and Kurds in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that began overnight, witnesses said Saturday.
In the past 24 hours American troops have arrested 129 people in more than 400 patrols in Baghdad for offences ranging from looting to shooting at US forces.
The US army has posted an additional 9,000 soldiers to Baghdad to combat the crime wave that has swept the capital since it fell in April. This raises the total US troop presence in Baghdad to 25,000
“We are concerned a lot about security. It is our top priority,” Major General William Webster said, adding that only two police stations were currently operational in Baghdad.
“We want to rebuild a viable Iraqi police department. It is not there yet. We did not expect the entire armed forces of Iraq to leave their equipment and put on civilian clothes,” the general said.