The U.S. army said on Thursday that its forces had detained a former regional commander in Saddam Hussein's Baath Party who is on Washington's list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis.
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that Aziz Salih Numan was a Baath Party regional command chairman responsible for west Baghdad. He was also a former governor of the southern cities of Karbala and Najaf. The statement said he was number eight on the wanted list.
It said Numan was "now in custody of Coalition Forces" and that he was captured on Wednesday near Baghdad.
According to press reports, he ordered the destruction of Shi'a holy sites while he served as Governor of Karbala (1977-83) and An Najaf (1983-86). As Governor of occupied Kuwait and commander of the popular army in Kuwait during November 1990-February 1991, he implemented the policy of "reintegrating Iraq's 19th province." (Albawaba.com)
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