Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States–led coalition, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ranking members of the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party or members of the Revolutionary Command Council; among them were some of Hussein's family members. The cards were officially named the "personality identification playing cards".

, all but three of the 52 most wanted have either died or been captured, ten of whom have been released.

About the cards

Each card contains the wanted person's address and, if available, the job performed by that individual. The highest-ranking cards, starting with the aces and kings, were used for the people at the top of the most-wanted list. The ace of spades is Saddam Hussein, the aces of clubs and hearts are his sons Qusay and Uday respectively, and the ace of diamonds is Saddam's presidential secretary Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti. This strict correspondence to the order of the most-wanted list was not carried through the entire deck, but sometime later in 2003, the list itself was renumbered to conform (almost) to the deck of cards. The card backs feature camouflage reminiscent of that seen on the Desert Camouflage Uniform.

According to US Navy Lieutenant commander Jim Brooks, a spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Agency, such playing cards have been used as far back as the American Civil War and again in World War II—Army Air Corps decks printed with the silhouettes of German and Japanese fighter aircraft fetch hundreds of dollars today—and in the Korean War. Troops often play cards to pass the time, and seeing the names, faces and titles of the wanted Iraqis during their games will help soldiers and Marines in case they run into the wanted individuals in the field, Brooks said.

The list of "Most Wanted" was the result of a multi-intelligence agency collaboration which included the Defense Intelligence Agency, Central Command, and representatives from all US Service Branch Intelligence entities. The "Most Wanted" names were then assigned to their respective cards by five US Army soldiers, 2LT Hans Mumm, SSG Shawn Mahoney, SGT Andrei Salter, SGT Scott Boehmler, and SPC Joseph Barrios, who were assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The pictures used on the cards came from a number of intelligence agencies, but most were derived from "open sources". The deck of cards was first announced publicly in Iraq on 11 April 2003, in a press conference by Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy director of operations at U.S. Central Command. On that same evening Max Hodges, a Houston-based entrepreneur, found and downloaded a high-resolution artwork file for the deck from a Defense Department web server. Discovering the following day that the file had vanished from the military web server he became the first eBay seller to offer the artwork file, in PDF, which could be used to reproduce the deck.Iraq Most Wanted Identification Playing Cards (PDF version) white rabbit online shop, archived on 27 November 2005 from the original He quickly contracted Gemaco Playing Card Company to print 1,000 decks for about $4,000 and started selling both the decks, in advance of receiving them from the printer, on eBay, Amazon.com and his own web site. When some of his early auctions for a $4 deck of cards quickly rose to over $120, it did not take long for other eBayers to jump on the bandwagon and print or order decks of their own to sell. In just a few days hundreds of sellers materialized and the price dropped to just a few dollars per deck.

The Texas-based Liberty Playing Card Company received an order to manufacture the cards for the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait and by claiming to be "the authorized government contractor" quickly became another popular domestic supplier for the commercial market. The U.S. military inadvertently included in the jokers the trademarked Hoyle joker owned by the United States Playing Card Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

List of cards

Suit Card Person Fate Spades Ace ♠ Saddam HusseinPresident 1 Captured 13 December 2003Executed 30 December 2006 King ♠ Ali Hassan al-Majid (also known as Chemical Ali)Presidential Advisor/RCC Member 5 Captured 21 August 2003Executed 25 January 2010 Queen ♠ Muhammad Hamza ZubaydiRetired RCC member 9 18 Captured 21 April 2003Died in custody on 2 December 2005 Jack ♠ Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar MuhammadIraqi Armed Forces Chief of Staff 13 11 Captured 12 May 2003Died in custody on 28 October 2010 10 ♠ Hamid Raja ShalahAir Force Commander 17 15 Captured 14 June 2003Released August 2007 9 ♠ Rukan Razuki Abd al-GhafarHead of Tribal Affairs Office 21 39 Killed in 2003 8 ♠ Tariq AzizDeputy prime minister 25 43 Surrendered 24 April 2003 and sentenced to deathDied in June 2015 7 ♠ Mahmud DhiyabMinister of interior 29 46 Surrendered 2003Released in July 2012 5 ♠ Watban Ibrahim HassanPresidential adviser 37 51 Captured 13 April 2003 and sentenced to deathDied of natural causes in custody on 13 August 2015 4 ♠ Muhammad Zimam Abd Al-RazzaqBa'ath Party branch command chairman 41 23 Captured 15 February 2004 3 ♠ Saad Abdul-MajidBa'ath Party branch command chairman 45 36 Captured 24 May 2003Released 18 December 2005Died on 16 April 2021 2 ♠ Rashid Taan KazimBa'ath Party regional chairman 49 30 At large as of Clubs Ace ♣ Qusay Saddam HusseinSon of Saddam Hussein 2 Killed in standoff with the U.S. Army in Mosul in July 2003 King ♣ Izzat Ibrahim al-DouriRCC vice chairman 6 Died on 25 October 2020 Queen ♣ Kamal Mustafa Abdallah SultanSecretary of the Republican Guard 10 8 Surrendered 17 May 2003 Jack ♣ Sayf Al-Din Fulayyih Hasan Taha Al-RawiRepublican Guard chief of staff 14 12 At large as of 10 ♣ Latif Nusayyif JasimBa'ath Party military bureau deputy chairman 18 37 Captured 9 June 2003Died in August 2021وفاة لطيف نصيف جاسم القيادي البارز بنظام صدام حسين 9 ♣ Jamal Mustafa AbdullahDeputy head of tribal affairs 22 40 Surrendered 20 April 2003Released on 30 June 2020 8 ♣ Walid Hamid TawfiqGovernor of Basra 26 44 Surrendered 29 April 2003Released on 25 June 2020 7 ♣ Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-RawiQuds forces chief of staff 30 20 Captured 4 June 2003Died in custody on 18 May 2018 6 ♣ Husam Muhammad AminHead of National Monitoring Directorate 34 49 Captured 27 April 2003Released 2005Died on 8 July 2021 5 ♣ Barzan Ibrahim HassanPresidential adviser 38 52 Captured 17 April 2003Executed 2007 4 ♣ Samir Abd Al-AzizBa'ath Party branch command chairman 42 24 Captured 17 April 2003 3 ♣ Sayf al-Din Al-MashhadaniBa'ath Party branch command chairman 46 27 Captured 24 May 2003Killed by ISIS in 2014 2 ♣ Ugla Abid SaqrBa'ath Party regional chairman 50 31 Captured 20 May 2003Released 2012 Hearts Ace ♥ Uday Saddam HusseinSon of Saddam Hussein 3 Killed in standoff with US Army in Mosul in July 2003 King ♥ Hani Abd al-Latif TilfahDirector—special security organization 7Captured 21 June 2004 Queen ♥ Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman MajidSpecial Republican Guard commander 11 9 Captured 23 July 2003Released on 29 June 2020 Jack ♥ Rafi Abd Al-Latif TilfahDirector of general security 15 13At large as of 10 ♥ Abd al-Tawab Mullah HuwayshDeputy prime minister 19 16 Captured 2 May 2003 9 ♥ Mizban Khadr HadiRCC member 23 41 Surrendered 9 July 2003Died in custody on 16 May 2020 8 ♥ Sultan Hashim AhmedMinister of defense 27 19 Captured 2003, Sentenced to deathDied in custody on 19 July 2020 7 ♥ Zuhayr Talib Abd Al-SattarDirector of military intelligence 31 21 Captured 23 April 2003Died on 15 June 2020 6 ♥ Muhammad Mahdi Salih 35 48 Captured 23 April 2003Released July 2010 5 ♥ Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash PhD (Dr. Ammash was derisively called "Mrs. Anthrax" in Western propaganda.)Weapons of mass destruction scientist, the only female on the list 39 53 Captured 7 May 2003Released 2005 4 ♥ Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-GhafurMinister of higher education and scientific research 43 54 Captured 19 April 2003Released 18 December 2005 3 ♥ Fadil Mahmud GharibBa'ath Party branch command chairman 47 28 Captured 15 May 2003 2 ♥ Ghazi HammudBa'ath Party branch command chairman 51 32 Captured 7 May 2003Died in 2007 Diamonds Ace ♦ Abid Hamid MahmudPresidential secretary 4 Executed on 7 June 2012 King ♦ Aziz SalihBa'ath Party branch command chairman 8 17 Sentenced to death in 2011Died in January 2024 Queen ♦ Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-TikritiAir defense forces commander 12 10 Captured 23 April 2003Released in April 2012 Jack ♦ Tahir Jalil HabbushIraqi intelligence service 16 14 Died on 2 April 2026 10 ♦ Taha Yassin RamadanVice president/RCC member 20 38 Executed in 2007 9 ♦ Taha Muhyi Al-Din MarufVice president/RCC member 24 42 Captured 2 May 2003Died in exile in 2009 8 ♦ Hikmat Mizban IbrahimDeputy prime minister and finance minister 28 45 Captured 18 April 2003Died in custody in 2012 7 ♦ Amir Hamudi HasanPresidential scientific adviser 32 55 Surrendered 12 April 2003 6 ♦ Sabawi Ibrahim HassanPresidential adviser 36 50 Died of cancer in 2013 5 ♦ Abd Al-Baqi Abd Karim Al-SadunBa'ath Party branch command chairman 40 22 Captured in 2015Sentenced to death in 2016Died in 2021 4 ♦ Yahya Abdallah al-UbaydiBa'ath Party branch command chairman 44 25 Killed in 2003 3 ♦ Muhsin KhadrBa'ath Party branch command chairman 48 29 Captured 7 February 2004Died in custody in 2017 2 ♦ Adil Abdallah MahdiBa'ath Party branch command chairman 52 33 Captured 15 May 2003Died of kidney failure on 22 March 2004.

Other versions

The cards also include two jokers: one lists Arab tribal titles, the other Iraqi military ranks. There are no cards for most-wanted No. 45 (was #26), Nayef Shindakh Thamir, No. 53 (was #34 – Killed in 2003 or possibly still fugitive) Hussein Al-Awadi, or No. 54 (was #35) Khamis Sirhan, captured on 11 January 2004. Al-Muhammad was held for six years before being released on 30 July 2010. He fled to Syria where other uncaptured members of the deck of cards were reported to be hiding.Mohammed, Riyadh, "Hussein Backer Set Free in Iraq", Los Angeles Times, 5 August 2010, p. 10.

In 2025, amidst a surge in the popularity of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the Department of Homeland Security released a promotional video that included several Pokémon-style cards of DHS detainees, all of which had a weakness to the "ICE" type. The Pokémon Company denied having given the department permission to do so.

In media In 2003, the cards were satirized by the British news comedy panel show Have I Got News for You, where guest host Bruce Forsyth conducted a segment entitled "Play Your Iraqi Cards Right" (a spoof of his game show Play Your Cards Right, the British version of Card Sharks) using the deck.

Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards

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