Iraq's Aziz helped identify Saddam, official says

BAGHDAD - Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, in US custody for seven months, helped to confirm the identity of former boss Saddam Hussein after his capture, an official with the US-led administration said today.

"He was identified with the help of Tareq Aziz," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. He did not elaborate.

The fugitive dictator was dusty, bearded and apparently exhausted when he was found in a narrow hiding hole during a raid on a farm near his home town Tikrit late yesterday.

Aziz, who surrendered to US forces after the Iraqi president was toppled in April, has been held at Baghdad airport.

Aziz, once a close aide of Saddam, also helped US forces confirm the identity of the ousted leader's two sons, Uday and Qusay, after they were killed by American soldiers in July.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq