BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Reports that Saddam Hussein's top aide and former vice president, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, was in custody proved unfounded Sunday, the BBC reported.
Announcements by Iraqi authorities had initially suggested Douri had been arrested Saturday in a clinic near Tikrit. However, the U.S. military have made it clear he is not in their custody, and the Iraqi national guard has denied involvement in any operation, the BBC said.
There have been several previous false reports about his arrest.
Douri is the highest-ranking figure in the former regime still at large. Douri is sixth on the list of 55 most wanted members of the regime, where the top five have all been captured or killed.
Douri has been accused of financing insurgent groups, and has a $10 million bounty out for his capture.
