Reuters May 02, 2003
Iraqi Weapons Agency Chief, Vice President Held-US
By Jeff Franks
AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar (Reuters) - Two high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein's government, including the head of the agency responsible for Iraq's banned weapons programs, have been apprehended, the U.S. military said on Friday.
Abdul Tawab Mullah Hwaish, a deputy prime minister and head of the Ministry of Military Industrialization, was "now in coalition control," U.S. Central Command said in a statement from its war headquarters in Qatar.
Also detained was Taha Mohieddin Ma'rouf, a vice president under Saddam and member of his Revolutionary Command Council, the statement said.
A spokesman at Central Command said the two men were taken into custody on Thursday, but gave no further details.
Hwaish was No. 16 on a U.S. list of the 55 most-wanted members of Saddam's administration, while Ma'rouf was No. 42.
The Military Industrialization Ministry headed by Hwaish was "the primary agency responsible for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs during the 1980s," according to Globalsecurity.org, a Washington-based think tank for space and military issues.
It was presumed to still have that responsibility until the Saddam government fell on April 9.
Iraqi leaders have said they destroyed all weapons of mass destruction after the 1991 Gulf War, but suspicions that they had not were a key reason for the U.S.-led invasion that began on March 20.
So far, none of the suspected weapons has been found, although numerous suspicious sites have been and are being tested, military officials said.
While one of only two vice presidents and a member of Saddam's RCC, Ma'rouf was not considered part of the former Iraqi leader's inner circle and rarely appeared in public or made statements.
He made trips to Morocco and Italy last fall to rally support against U.S. attacks and to lobby for the United Nations oil-for-food program with Iraq.
Ma'rouf was the nine of diamonds and Hwaish was the 10 of hearts in a deck of cards issued to U.S. troops hunting the 55 most-wanted Iraqi leaders.
A U.S. official in Washington said former Transport Minister Ahmed Murtada Ahmed Khalil had also been arrested in recent days. He was not on the most-wanted list and the official did not have details of his arrest.
ABC News reported that another former official had been captured and identified him as No. 41 on the most-wanted list, Mizban Khider Hadi. He was a commander of the central Euphrates region and a top Baath Party leader.
Neither Centcom nor officials in Washington could confirm his arrest.
Centcom issued a list of most-wanted Iraqis after ousting Saddam following a U.S.-led military invasion of Iraq. Friday's announcement brought to 17 the number of people on the list known to have surrendered or been captured.
Saddam, the ace of spades, topped the list. U.S. officials have said they do not know whether he is dead or alive. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming in Washington)
Copyright © 2003, Reuters
