Iraqi politicians’ links to al-Douri exposed

Iraqi officials have obtained information from the mobile phone of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a top aide to executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, disclosing links between the notorious terror leader and some major Iraqi political figures.

A high-ranking Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that investigators came across names and numbers of some current Iraqi politicians as they were examining al-Douri's cellphone .

Al-Douri was one of the most-wanted terrorists in Iraq, who was killed in an operation by volunteer forces in the south of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on April 17.  

The new information is a sign that al-Douri was in close connection with some elements inside the Iraqi government.

“The national security forces …came across the names of some current members of the parliament, ministers and Iraqi politicians during the investigation of his mobile phone,” the source told al-Maloumah news agency.

Those names, the source said, include vice-presidents Ayad Allawi and  Usama al-Nujayfi, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, and President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani.

Other major figures include fugitive former vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, and some pro-western members of the Iraqi parliament.

Political sources have already confirmed that the names and numbers were on the phone records, with some saying that they also had some numbers from influential tribal chiefs and senior military commanders.  

Al-Hawar news agency also quoted another source as saying that before his killing, al-Douri spoke about 45 minutes with Dhafer al-Aani, a member of the Iraq National Accord bloc in the Iraqi parliament.

Al-Douri remained at large following the US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam in 2003. A notorious figure behind major terrorist attacks in Iraq after the fall of Saddam, he later joined forces with the ISIL terrorists when the Takfiris started their campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. Iraqi popular forces have confirmed his death through conducting DNA tests.