BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said Friday they believe that government forces killed Izzat Ibrahim Al-Douri, the former deputy of Saddam Hussein who for over a decade was the top fugitive from the ousted regime and became an underground figure involved in insurgencies, most recently allying with Daesh (the so-called IS) militants. It was not the first time Iraqi officials have claimed to have killed or captured Al-Douri, who was the "king of clubs" in the deck of playing cards issued to help American troops identify key regime fugitives after the 2003 US-led invasion ousted Saddam. DNA tests were underway to confirm whether a body recovered from fighting around the city of Tikrit was Al-Douri's. Reports of Al-Douri's death came as Iraqi forces are trying to push back Daesh fighters in Salahuddin province, where Tikrit is located. Government troops took back several towns near the country's largest oil refinery at Beiji in the province, officials said. Further north, a large car bomb exploded Friday afternoon next to the US Consulate in the northern city of Irbil, a rare attack in the capital of the Kurdish autonomy zone. Iraqi police officials said three people were killed and five were wounded in the bombing. US officials said there were no American casualties or casualties among consulate personnel or guards. An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the powerful blast went off outside a cafe next to the building in Irbil's Ankawa neighborhood, setting several nearby cars on fire. Shortly afterward, the Daesh claimed responsibility for the Irbil attack, reported the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks militant websites. According to the Governor of Salahuddin province, Raed Al-Jabouri, Al-Douri was killed by Iraqi troops and Shiite militiamen in an operation in the Talal Hamreen mountains east of Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, which was retaken from Daesh earlier this month. Troops opened fire at a convoy carrying Al-Douri and nine bodyguards, killing all of them, Gen. Haider Al-Basri, a senior Iraqi commander, told state TV. The government issues several photos showing a body purported to be Al-Douri. The body had a bright red beard, perhaps dyed, and a ginger-colored moustache. Al-Douri was a fair-skinned redhead with a ginger moustache, making him distinctive among Saddam's inner circle. DNA tests were underway to confirm the identity of the body, Iraqi intelligence officials told The AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. In 2013, the Iraqi government said it arrested Al-Douri, circulating a photo of a bearded man who resembled the former Baathist. It later said it was a case of mistaken identity. Col. Pat Ryder, spokesman for US.Central Command, said the US has no information to corroborate the reported death of Al-Douri. Al-Douri was officially the No. 2 man in Iraq's ruling hierarchy. He served as vice chairman of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council, was one of Saddam's few longtime confidants and his daughter was married briefly to Saddam's son, Odai, who was killed with his brother, Qusai, by US troops in Mosul. — AP
