Tehran, April 17, IRNA � A senior commander of the former Iraqi Ba�athist government under slain Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, has reportedly been killed in the restive province of Salahuddin in Iraq�s north.




Raed al-Jabbouri, the governor of Salahuddin Province, said on Friday that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was killed by Iraqi security forces during a preemptive operation in the eastern part of Iraqi city of Tikrit, Lebanon�s al-Manar TV reported.

�The security forces were able to kill the former vice president and one of al-Ba�ath Party commanders, Izzat al-Douri, during an operation near Aalas oil fields in Tikrit,� al-Jabbouri said in a press statement.

The governor did not reveal any further details on the operation and the killing of the former commander of the so-called Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order.

Douri remained at large following the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam in 2003.

In July 2014, a purported audio message from al-Douri was released on a website loyal to Saddam�s ousted Ba�ath Party, calling on all Iraqis to join the ISIL Takfiri militants.

The 15-minute tape by al-Douri described the Takfiris as heroes and praised their deadly offensive against the Iraqi government.

The ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed militants took control of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country�s Sunni Arab heartland.

The terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against all Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, Shia volunteers and Sunni tribesmen have been engaged in joint operations to drive the terrorists out of areas they have seized.


By IRNA