BAGHDAD, Oct 20: Iraqi security forces have arrested a nephew of former president Saddam Hussein in the northern city of Tikrit on suspicion of financing insurgents, national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said on Thursday.

Yasser Sabawi was arrested on Wednesday as residents of Tikrit — Saddam’s hometown — protested to mark the beginning of the ousted president’s trial on charges of crimes against humanity, Rubaie told Reuters.

Rubaie told Al Arabiya television Sabawi was suspected of funnelling money to Sunni Arab insurgents who have a staged a relentless series of attacks targeting both civilians and the Baghdad’s US-backed government.

Sabawi is one of the sons of Saddam’s half brother and former presidential adviser Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti.

CAR BOMB: Meanwhile, a suicide car bomber attacked a US military convoy north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least four Iraqi civilians and injuring 14, police said.—Reuters