WASHINGTON – U.S. forces in Iraq have taken custody of Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister and the most visible Iraqi leader other than Saddam Hussein.

Officials at the Pentagon and at Central Command headquarters in Qatar said Thursday they did not know whether Aziz was captured or whether he turned himself in.

On the U.S. list of the 55 most-wanted members of the former government, Aziz was No. 43, the eight of spades in the military’s card deck of top Iraqi leaders.

His prominence in the regime could make Aziz a source for the best information yet on the fate of Saddam and his two sons, as well as the location of any hidden weapons of mass destruction.

&uot;We can confirm Tariq Aziz is now under coalition control,” said Central Command spokeswoman Capt. Dani Burrows.

Aziz was often the public face of Iraq when responding to accusations by the United States and United Nations.

He was the only Christian in Saddam’s inner circle, most of whom were Sunni Muslims like Saddam. He served as foreign minister during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and was a frequent spokesman at that time.

Aziz last appeared in public March 19, when he held a news conference in Baghdad to quash rumors he had fled the Iraqi capital.