Iraqis hail Tariq Aziz surrender

Aziz, former Deputy Prime Minister and number 43 on a US list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, gave himself up in Baghdad on Thursday night. ‘‘He did surrender. He is currently being questioned,’’ a US military spokesman said in Qatar.

At Baghdad’s Abi Hanifah Nouman mosque, Sheikh Moayyad Ibrahim al-Aadhami told worshippers after Friday prayers: ‘‘Let’s say no to America, no to the occupation. We won’t replace one tyrant with another.”

Most Iraqis welcomed the US-led overthrow of Saddam’s iron rule but anger has risen at what many see as foreign occupation due to shortages of food, water and power, and rampant looting in the days after U.S. Forces entered Baghdad.

CNN quoted his sister as saying he had recently suffered two heart attacks. She said he held discussions with the Americans through an intermediary for several days, seeking assurances he would be treated in a “dignified” way and receive medical care.

She said US Army medics were on hand when he surrendered on Thursday evening.

Ordinary people in Baghdad welcomed his surrender.

For them, Aziz is the biggest fish netted, even if the Americans are holding lesser figures much higher on the wanted list. (Reuters)