Shafaq News / An official source at the Iraqi Ministry of Justice said, on Tuesday, that a senior officer in the former Republican Guard was released, earlier today, after serving his sentence.

The source told Shafaq News agency, that the Iraqi Ministry of Justice has released Walid Hamid Tawfiq al-Tikriti after his 17-year sentence ended yesterday.

Al-Tikriti who served as a major general in the Republican Guard, was the commander of the forces that quashed the 1991 uprising. He also assumed the position of the director of public security in Basra and its governor later.

On Monday, an official source reported that the head of the former regime’s guard commander was released after finishing his sentence.

The source told Shafaq News agency, "it was decided today to release Brigadier General Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman, the commander of the Special Republican Guard", after serving a 17 years sentence in Nasiriyah central prison.

Brigadier General Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikrit, born in 1960, was one of the leaders of the Special Republican Guard forces during the reign of Saddam Hussein and a member of the dissolved Baath Party. His brother is the Major General Rukan Abd al-Gafur, Saddam's personal companion.