U.S. Takes Steps to Freeze Assets of Hussein Nephews

The U.S. government has identified four nephews of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as providing financial support, weapons and explosives to insurgents in Iraq, and has moved to freeze any assets they might have in the United States, the Treasury Department said Thursday.

The four, all in their 30s, are sons of Hussein’s half-brother Sabawi Ibrahim Hassan Tikriti, who headed the feared General Security Directorate under the old regime. The Treasury Department announcement listed addresses in Syria for the four men and their two younger brothers, ages 21 and 16.

The Bush administration has warned Iraq’s neighbors, including Syria, against providing support for the insurgency or harboring anyone who does so. When Hussein’s regime fell, the former chief of the secret police fled to Syria and was suspected of helping to organize the insurgency from there. In February, Syrian forces -- in what U.S. and Iraqi officials suggested was a goodwill gesture -- arrested him and turned him over to Iraqi custody.

Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, said in a statement that Thursday’s action “targets the money flow of former regime elements actively supporting attacks against coalition forces and the Iraqi people.”

The government’s order gave no indication of how much the men’s assets might be worth or what form they might take. It also did not say whether their actions supporting the insurgents were continuing.

In its announcement, the Treasury Department said the oldest son, Yasir, had transferred “a large sum of money” to Hussein’s wife, Sajida Khairallah Telfah, on her husband’s behalf. The government described Yasir as a financier and a bodyguard for his uncle before Hussein was captured by U.S. troops in December 2003.

Omar, the second son, provided financial and operational support to anti-coalition forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the department said, and the third son, Ayman, helped to finance attacks by the Fedayeen Saddam, a paramilitary force formerly headed by Hussein’s son Uday. Ayman also encouraged attacks on Iraq’s infrastructure, including oil pipelines and water and power facilities, it said.

Bashar, the fourth son, aided his brothers in communicating with insurgent groups throughout northern and central Iraq, the department said.

Although the Treasury announcement gave no indication that the two youngest, Ibrahim and Saad, had been involved in any anti-coalition activities, any assets they had in the U.S. were frozen as well. News reports in April said Ibrahim had been captured in Iraq and had been involved with financing insurgents.

The names of all six are being turned over to the United Nations with a request that member nations take similar action against the assets. Any recovered assets are to be transferred to the U.N.’s Development Fund for Iraq.