US forces have captured two men they believe are former officials in Saddam Hussein's regime.
They include a regional Baath Party leader and the former culture minister, a Pentagon official said.
The military is still checking to confirm the men in custody are Baath Party leader Fadil Mahmud Gharib and former culture minister Hammed Youssef Hammadi, the official said.
Gharib was a leader of Saddam's political party in the provinces of Karbala and Babil south of Baghdad and was number 28 on the US list of the 55 most wanted former Iraqi officials.
The United States has captured nearly two dozen of the officials on the list.
Hammadi was not on the top 55 list but could be an important source of information in tracking down artefacts looted or otherwise stolen during the war, the Pentagon official said.
AP