Former Iraqi Vice President Izzat Al-Douri might be the most fortunate person in the world. His death was announced several times in the last 12 years, most recently a year ago by Iraqi officials, but he has reappeared.
It was only after the fall of Saddam Hussein that Al-Douri gained political prominence. During Saddam’s reign, Al-Douri was a vice president with no powers, but after the American occupation, he became the only symbol of the former regime, because he was the only one alive and free.
A lot has been written about Al-Douri’s leadership in the Iraqi resistance, but none of it can be confirmed. He reportedly tried to mediate the release of Jordanian pilot MuathAal-Kasasbeh from Daesh, but the terrorist group committed a heinous crime by burning the captive alive.
Then it was rumored that Al-Douri had led the attack by Iraqi militants on the city of Mosul, a massive operation that surprised the world and changed the policies of major powers. It turned out, however, that it was an invasion by Daesh that had nothing to do with Al-Douri’s fellow Baathists or his Naqshbandi militant group, which is against Daesh.
The situation got more complex when Daesh captured 12 Baathist leaders. Al-Douri was forced to issue a statement commending the group, in a desperate attempt to save his comrades. Daesh had stipulated that he issue a statement in exchange for their release, but then breached the agreement and killed them.
The group justified this by saying Al-Douri’s statement did not include a pledge of allegiance to Daesh. Rumors that the group and Baathists were in cahoots have since stopped. To this day, Douri remains a symbol of opposition to the Iraqi government.
