Iraq weapons chief becomes 13th official captured on US hit list

Allied forces in Iraq may be a step closer to discovering the truth on Saddam Hussein's missing weapons arsenals with the capture of General Hussam Mohammad Amin, a senior figure in the toppled regime who served as the liaison between Baghdad and United Nations weapons inspectors.

US Central Command in Qatar confirmed the arrest yesterday. General Amin was number 49 on the Pentagon's most-wanted list of former officials. Also known as Hossem Mohammad Amin al-Yasin, he bore the formal title of National Monitoring Director, in charge of overseeing Iraq's weapons.

The face of General Amin became familiar around the world in the weeks before the war. He appeared at press conferences in which he defended Iraq's claim that it held no banned weapons. He is believed to have been a staunch loyalist of Saddam and a confidant of his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

"Hussam Mohammad (Amin) al-Yasin, the National Monitoring Director, is now under coalition control," Central Command said in a statement. The capture brings to 13 the number of officials on the list who are in custody and being interrogated by US military officials.

Also already in captivity is Amer Hammoudi al-Saadi, Saddam's top scientific adviser, who was the only other member of the regime authorised publicly to speak about weapons.

Both men may hold the key to Allied claims that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction – the main reason given by America and Britain for war in the first place. So far, US teams hunting for evidence have found nothing definitive.

General Amin was said to have been seized on Saturday while travelling on a highway west of Baghdad that heads towards Syria and Jordan. Central Command did not say who captured him.