Washington, June 18: US forces in Iraq have captured Saddam Hussein's presidential secretary, Abid Hamid Mahmud, the number four on the US list of most wanted former regime members, a US defence official said today. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US Central Command was preparing an announcement on Mahmud, a distant cousin of Saddam, who would be the most important official caught since the downfall of the regime on April 9.

The circumstances surrounding his arrest were not immediately known but it came amid a series of US raids in the area around Tikrit, Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad.

Mahmud was the ace of diamonds on the pack of cards of wanted Iraqis distributed by the US Defence Department.

Bureau Report