Iraq lists 60 most-wanted militants, Baathists

BAGHDAD: Iraqi security services on Sunday published the names of 60 people wanted on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda or the Baath Party of late dictator Saddam Hussein.

The list, seen by AFP, includes the name of Saddam’s daughter Raghad, who lives in Jordan. It also features 28 suspected IS jihadists, 12 from al-Qaeda and 20 Baathists, giving details of the roles they allegedly play in their organisations, crimes of which they are suspected and in most cases, photographs.

All are Iraqis apart from Maan Bashour, a Lebanese man accused of recruiting fellow citizens to fight in Iraq. "It’s an old story that dates back to the American invasion of Iraq when we were partisans of the Iraqi resistance," Bashour told AFP. "Yes, we carried out activities against the American occupation."

The name of elusive IS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is absent from the list. A senior security official contacted by AFP declined to explain why. "These are the terrorists most wanted by the judicial authorities and the security services," the official said. "This is the first time we publish these names which, until now were secret."

The IS fighters the document lists are accused of fighting in Iraq’s second city Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh, as well as in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Anbar. IS seized a third of Iraq’s territory during a lightning advance in 2014, before being beaten back by security forces backed by a United States-led coalition. IS fighters on the list seen by AFP on Sunday are accused of murders, bombings, attacks on security forces, and the financing and transport of weapons.