A man identified as Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein's former deputy, criticised a recent arrest campaign against Baathists and denied they had plotted against the Iraqi government. Syria-based Arrai television aired on Thursday an audio tape of a man it identified as Douri, the head of Saddam's banned Baath Party and the highest-ranking member of Saddam's regime still at large. There was no independent confirmation of the speaker's identity.