Former Iraqi oil minister in US custody

29 April 2003
Amer Mohammed Rasheed, Iraq's former oil minister who is suspected of having knowledge of illicit weapons programmes, surrendered to US troops on 28 April. He was at number 47 on the American list of 55 most wanted Iraqis, and is the 14th on the list to be taken into US custody. Rasheed is accused of having been involved in weapons programmes before being appointed oil minister in 1995. His wife is Dr Rihab Taha, dubbed Dr Germ by UN weapons inspectors because of her close involvement with Iraq's biological weapons programmes. There was speculation that Rasheed's removal from the oil ministry in January was connected to the role of his wife, although the official reason given was that he had reached mandatory retirement age. In March, Iraqi television reported that he had been reinstated.

Those on the US list so far in custody:

10. Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-Tikriti

18. Mohammed Hazmaq al-Zubaidi

21. Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib

24. Samir al-Aziz al-Najem

40. Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti

43. Tariq Aziz

45. Hikmat al-Azzawi

47. Amer Mohammed Rasheed

48. Mohammed Mahdi al-Salih

49. Mohammed Amin

51. Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti

52. Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti

54. Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur

55. Emir Hamudi Hasan al-Sadi

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