At least 70 people have been killed after a massive battle in Iraq in which officials believed they had captured the most senior figure in Sadam Hussien's regime still at large.
US and Iraqi security forces said they were almost sure Mr Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was among 80 people detained following fierce exchanges in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit today.
Officials thought Mr al-Douri was captured by members of Iraq's national guard backed by US forces in the city where Saddam's loyalists remain strong.
However the claim was later declared a mistake.
The US believes Mr al-Douri has been directly involved in organising and funding attacks on occupation forces since Saddam was deposed. Although he said to be in extremely poor health, suffering from Leukaemia.
Mr al-Douri was Saddam's number two in the Revolutionary Command Council, and held a senior post on a government committee in charge of northern Iraq when chemical weapons were used against the town of Halabja in 1988, killing thousands of Kurds.
He was sixth on the US list of the 55 most-wanted members of Saddam's regime. The top five on the list, including Saddam, his sons Qusay and Uday and "Chemical Ali" Hassan al-Majid, have already been captured or killed.
The news spread fast in Baghdad, and in some Shi'ite districts residents fired AK-47s in the air in celebration.