Two More Baathists Captured

Coalition forces captured two more wanted Iraqis over the weekend, bringing to 27 the number of the top 55 former members of Saddam Hussein's regime in custody, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday.

The men captured Saturday were low on the list of people depicted on a deck of playing cards distributed to U.S. troops. However, their arrests mean nearly half of the top suspects are being held and interrogated by American forces.

The latest captured include Sayf al-Din al-Mashadani, No. 46 on the list. He was the regional leader of Saddam's Baath Party in the Muthanna region of southwestern Iraq.

Also captured was No. 55, Sad Abd al-Majid al-Faysal. He was the Baath Party regional chairman for the area around Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and power base.

In a related story, U.S. forces arrested a man they identified as Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law, a military spokeswoman said Tuesday. A newspaper reported the arrest but identified the same man as Saddam's son-in-law.

Mulhana Hamood Abdul Jabar, detained early Sunday in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, was taken to Baghdad International Airport for questioning, spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle said.

"Saddam's brother-in-law...is not in the top 55 list," Aberle said.

Abdul Jabar was arrested after he drove two wounded men to a hospital in Tikrit at 3 a.m. Sunday. Hospital staff informed U.S. military police that he was Saddam's relative.

Aberle said the two injured men, who were suffering from gunshot wounds, will be questioned when they recover.

Azzaman, a London-based daily newspaper that recently opened offices in Baghdad, reported the arrest and cited the same details but said Abdul Jabar was Saddam's son-in-law. It gave no further details.