Iraqi government officials announced Monday that a man detained by authorities a day earlier was not Izzat Ibrahim, a one-time aide to Saddam Hussein who is the highest-ranking official from the toppled regime to remain free.
A spokesman for Iraq’s interior ministry said that after more investigation, officials had determined that the man being held was not Ibrahim, who ranks sixth on the U.S. most-wanted and appears on the king of clubs in the deck of cards listing fugitives from the former regime.
The man, not publicly named, was a relative of Ibrahim who also was wanted by authorities on unspecified charges, said the spokesman, Sabah Kadhim.
Meanwhile, the group that kidnapped two French journalists last month issued fresh demands for their release, including a $5 million ransom.
In a declaration posted on an Islamic Web site, the Islamic Army in Iraq also demanded that France agree to a truce with Osama bin Laden and vow not to take part in military operations or commerce in Iraq.
The statement set a 48-hour deadline. It could not be immediately determined whether the statement was authentic.
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