Body of 'King of Clubs' aka Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri paraded through streets of Iraq before being handed over to Iraqi Government
Saddam Hussein’s right-hand-man was reportedly killed last week
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Your support makes all the difference.Iraqi Shia militia paraded what they claim is the body of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein’s right-hand-man, in a glass coffin before handing it over to the Ministry of Health in Baghdad on Monday.
The man nicknamed the ‘King of Clubs’ because of his position in the US military’s most wanted deck of playing cards was reportedly killed by Iraqi troops and Shia militiamen, according to the governor of the Salahuddin province in Iraq.
The Kataib Hezbollah claimed on Sunday it had conducted DNA tests that proved the body was indeed of al-Douri.
Al-Douri was one of the most high-profile aides to Hussein and a strict enforcer of the regime. He evaded capture after the dictator’s execution and was named as the leader of the now dissolved Baath Party in 2006.
The US military marked the 72-year-old as the "single most significant regime figure" at large, according to the BBC, and a $10 million (£6.72m) bounty for his capture was offered.
He was linked to Isis when he appeared on tape encouraging Iraqis to join the ranks of jihadist militants, and his Naqshbandi Order, the primary Baathist insurgent group, are understood to have been involved in Isis' rapid advance across northern Iraq.
The governor of Iraq's Salahaddin province Raed al-Jabbouri told Al-Arabiya that Douri was a “mastermind of Isis in Iraq,” and claimed his killing was a blow to the group. The network also showed an unverified picture purporting to show his corpse.
However, his links to the extremist group remain unclear, particularly after the Baath party declared war against Isis in July 2014. In a statement, it said: "Isis is a terrorist organisation that carry the project of destroying the popular revolution sweeping Iraq, and we will stand against it with all our power."
Al-Douri had distinctive red hair and a ginger moustache and the body transported in a transparent casket also had a red beard, which may have been dyed.
False reports of his arrest and death have been circulated in the past, with the Iraqi government admitting a case of mistaken identity in 2013. A spokesman for the Baath Party denied reports of his death to Reuters, but offered no evidence he was still alive.
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