Arrest of Hikmat Ibrahim al-Zuwayy, Minister of Finance of Saddam's Regime - 2003-04-19

U.S. military officials say that the Iraqi police have arrested Saddam Hussein's Minister of Finance and handed him over to U.S. Marines. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command states that Hikmat Ibrahim al-Zuwayy can clarify the status of billions of dollars in wealth that is believed to have been hidden abroad by Saddam Hussein and members of his regime. U.S. military officials have also arrested Samir al-Aziz al-Najim, a senior official of the ruling Ba'ath Party, who could provide first-hand information about the central structure of the Ba'ath Party to coalition officials. Reports from Baghdad indicate that the capital was relatively calm today, with uniformed Iraqi police directing traffic in busy streets. However, demonstrators gathered in the streets for the second consecutive day, calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Meanwhile, the first large convoy carrying food aid from the U.S. has arrived in Baghdad. More relief supplies will soon be transported through southern Iraq as British forces report that the railway between Basra and Umm Qasr has been secured. Basra is Iraq's only deep-water port capable of accommodating large ships.