AD DAWR, Sept 6: In this bastion of loyalism to local boy Saddam Hussein, even the national guard expressed pleasure on Monday at the government's embarrassed backtracking from claims his right-hand man , Izzat Ibrahim al Duri, was behind bars.

"It's a very good thing that the Americans didn't capture him," said guardsman Mohammed Abbas. "Izzat Ibrahim al Duri is a humble and honest man. I hope they never get him," he says, to nods of approval from a fellow guardsman.

Abbas scoffs at the account told by his area commander in nearby Tikrit of how Iraq's second most-wanted man was seized in a major national guard operation in the village that sparked a deadly firefight with his followers.

"I switched on the television and learnt I had taken part in a major operation. I asked myself: 'What is this rubbish?' There was no operation and there were no clashes," he insists.

A third fatigued guardsman, Ali Hussein, is just as pleased that Ibrahim remains at liberty and just as mocking of his commander's boasts. Up to 10 million dollars has been on offer since last November for information leading to Ibrahim's capture or killing, but Hussein insists he wants none of it.

"I may be in the national guard but I can tell you I would never hand over Izzat Ibrahim," he says, adding that he has nothing but loathing for the informer who led US troops to Saddam in this very village last December.

"He sold Saddam to the Americans and has no honour," he says in reference to the bounty of up to 25 million dollars the informer received from the US government for his tip.

Hussein scoffs at the idea that the old regime's most successful fugitive would risk breaking cover with a large retinue of followers in an area where his enemies would expect him to be.

"It's crazy to think that Izzat Ibrahim could have been in a clinic with hundreds of his followers, because there are roadblocks dotted all over the place around here," he says.

In Baghdad Monday, Iraqi officials claimed there had in fact been an operation around Ad-Dawr, but that it had netted the wrong man. "There was a person arrested," interior ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said. "But after making appropriate checks, it was not Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri. It was one of his relatives. He is also wanted but he is not on any major lists." A senior US officer told a similar tale, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"They got someone who is the same height, the same colour hair and a matching scar and he's also an al-Duri. It's like: 'Hey! we got Smith', but there are a whole lotta Smiths. It's very unfortunate."

The views expressed by the national guardsmen here suggested that in reality the force's local ties give it local sympathies - and in this part of Iraq that means nostalgia for Saddam and his wanted henchman. -AFP