US Believes Capture of Brother Could Lead to Saddam

The US is hoping to secure vital leads in the hunt for Saddam Hussein, his elusive weapons of mass destruction and hidden funds after the capture in Baghdad yesterday of his half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti.

American Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks said Barzan had an "extensive knowledge of the regime's inner working." A former head of the secret police, he is the most prominent member of the regime to be caught so far.

He was seized by US special forces and marines in the early morning, apparently after a tip-off.

Barzan, 53, who was regularly described as Saddam's banker, could prove to be the key to finding the estimated $5bn-$40bn the regime hid in foreign bank accounts during the past 25 years.

According to financial investigators, Barzan created a sprawling money-laundering network of more than a hundred accounts while he was the ambassador to the UN in Geneva from 1988 to 1998.

The funds were partly used to finance a network of Iraqi agents in Europe and elsewhere, run by Barzan, western investigators believe.

Although Barzan's relationship with Saddam and Saddam's son Uday was often tempestuous and he spent many years estranged from them, he is party to many of the regime's secrets.

Brig-Gen Brooks said: "We are currently asking a number of questions ... finding out whatever we can from this capture."

The US needs information quickly about the disappearing act of Saddam, his two sons, the deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, and the other top 50 members of the regime, before it turns into an embarrassment comparable to Washington's failure to capture Osama bin Laden. Only three members on America's wanted list of 55 have been captured so far.

Washington also has to find evidence that Saddam did hide biological and chemical weapons and a missile system capable of delivering them, the alleged reason for launching the war. Nothing has been found so far.

As Iraqi ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Barzan was reputed to have been the head of the regime's intelligence operations in Europe, which included acquiring information, parts and materials for weapons of mass destruction.

Such was his prominence that in January 1991 he met the US secretary of state, James Baker, in Geneva for talks aimed at averting the first Gulf war.

The US announcement of his capture initially created surprise because there was speculation last week that he had been killed after the US dropped six "smart" bombs on his home at Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad.

US forces last week captured another of Saddam's three half-brothers, Watban, a former interior minister who was also in the "pack of cards" given to American troops, with pictures and information about the leading 55 members of the regime. Watban was the five of spades and Barzan, ranked at 52, the five of clubs.

But Barzan played a prominent part throughout most of Saddam's 24 years in power. He helped him to gain power and was head of the secret police, the mukhabarat, from 1974 to 1983. For the past three years, he had been an adviser to Saddam.

The US-backed organisation Indict claims that he was responsible for thousands of deaths and forced deportations, and that he ordered the murder of Iraqi exiles.

Saddam, paranoid about his own safety, surrounded himself with family members, even though relations were often stormy. Barzan was out of favour between 1983 and 1988 and again between 1997 and 1999.

Saddam's son Uday was also frequently at odds with his uncle. Uday is reputed to have victimised Barzan's daughter. Barzan, worried that Uday was being groomed as Saddam's successor, denounced him in 1995 as "greedy and unfit for power".

The third half-brother, Sab'awi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, is alleged to have taken refuge in Damascus, though the Syrian government denies this.

Saddam's scientific adviser, Amer Hammoudi al-Saadi, number 55 in the pack of cards, surrendered to US forces last week.