US forces in Iraq on 24 April made their highest profile arrest so far when former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz surrendered in Baghdad. Aziz was number 43 on the US' list of the 55 most wanted Iraqis and is the 12th of these to be detained. He was the highest-ranking Christian in Saddam Hussein's regime and was regarded as one of the president's most loyal aides. Aziz was foreign minister in the run-up to the first Gulf war. Sent on frequent missions abroad to argue the regime's case, he was responsible for securing US support for Iraq's 1980-88 war against Iran.