US captures four top Iraqi officials

American forces in Iraq have captured four more top officials of Saddam Hussein's former government — including the air defence force commander and the former head of military intelligence — bringing the total to 11.

The highest-ranking official in the group is Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-Tikriti, who headed Iraq's air defenses under Saddam. He was tenth on the US list of the top 55 most wanted officials from Saddam's regime.

Al-Tikriti, who was from Saddam's clan which made up much of the former Iraqi inner circle, also reportedly helped train the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam forces. US officials have accused Fedayeen forces of committing war crimes including using civilians as human shields and killing Iraqis who wanted to surrender.

Pentagon officials said Wednesday it was too early to determine whether any of the officials captured Wednesday would be tried for war crimes or other violations of international law.

The latest captures bring to 11 the number of top former Iraqi officials in US custody. Three others in the top 55 are believed to have been killed, Pentagon officials say.

Gen. Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, the former head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, surrendered to US troops yesterday, a senior Pentagon official said.

The directorate monitored the loyalty of Iraq's regular army, provided security at Iraqi military facilities and collected intelligence on military forces opposing Iraq. Naqib was No. 21 on the 55 most wanted list.

Naqib was a professional soldier who rose through the ranks of the Iraqi army, US officials said. The military intelligence directorate he headed was separate from the Iraqi Mukhabarat, which gathered strategic intelligence and conducted covert operations aimed at maintaining government authority.

The 56-year-old Naqib told The Los Angeles Times in an interview before his surrender that he made no apologies for his involvement in Saddam's government. He also made it clear that he had not always agreed with the Iraqi leader. However, he had shared Saddam's Pan-Arabist ideas and had hope that Iraq and its military could be the force for creating an Arab nation, the Times report said.

Also captured Wednesday was Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, the former Iraqi trade minister and No. 48 on the most wanted list.

Also Wednesday, allied special operations troops captured a Mukhabarat officer formerly in charge of American operations, a senior US official said.

Jim Wilkinson, director of strategic communications for US Central Command, identified the prisoner as Salim Said Khalaf al-Jumayli. He was not among the 55 most wanted.

Al-Jumayli is suspected of having knowledge of Iraqi intelligence activities in the United States, including names of people spying for Iraq, Wilkinson said in a statement from Doha, Qatar.

He offered no details about how the Iraqi was captured but said there was one Iraqi casualty during the operation. No American was hurt, he said.