Paraded in a glass coffin and
flanked by jostling civilians, members of the armed forces and the media
scrum, the former right-hand man of Saddam Hussein was handed over to
the authorities today.
Iraqi officials said Izzat Ibrahim
al-Douri had died in fighting with government troops in Salahuddin
province, north of Baghdad, on Friday.
Today, his body was returned to Baghdad
and delivered to the Ministry of Health as crowds gathered to get a
closer look at the ‘King of Clubs’.
A glass coffin with transparent panels
carrying the body of Al-Douri – with his bright orange beard – was
transferred from a van into a government vehicle. The event was
broadcast live on state television in Iraq.
Al-Douri, 72, headed the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, an important faction behind the recent rise of ISIS.
He was one of Saddam’s most trusted
henchmen, helping to lead his 1968 bloodless coup. Both Al-Douri and
Saddam came from the same Tikriti tribal background.
His daughter was briefly married to
Saddam’s elder son, Uday, who – together with his brother Qusay – was
killed by US forces in Mosul in July 2003.
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