Coalition forces said Saturday they had captured former Iraqi air force commander Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti, who was No. 17 on the U.S. Central Command's most-wanted list. The former commander, who is in his late 50s, is from Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and was close to the ousted Iraqi president's family. He was one of the Iraqi military commanders seen meeting regularly with Saddam before the U.S.-led war started March 20. The pilot and three-star general was appointed commander-in-chief of the Iraqi air force during the mid-1990s. He also commanded air bases during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, including in the northern city of Kirkuk. Before the U.S.-led war started, the commander advised Saddam that the Iraqi air force would be fully prepared to fight and defeat invading coalition forces.
| And a damned fine job they did of it, too. |
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