 Yemen denied that it was harbouring one of Saddam Hussein's top aides as alleged by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Talabani said in an interview that Izzat Al Douri, wanted by Iraq and suspected of directing insurgency there, was in the Red Sea state.
'We deny...that Izzat Al Douri is in Yemen,' a senior official said. 'Such information is baseless and unfounded. Yemen is very transparent when it comes to political asylum.'
| "We asked around; nobody's seen him." |
Several Iraqi officials have said Douri is in Syria, but Talabani said his government had been following his movements and established that he was in Yemen. Douri was Saddam's deputy in the Revolutionary Command Council, which functioned as both executive and legislature. He is believed to be the leader of have links with the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. |