The former vice-president of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has escaped from forces who had cornered him in an overnight raid.

Al-Douri managed to escape the raid following intelligence reports that he had organised a meeting in a village east of Tikrit city, about 170 km north of Baghdad.

The former top Saddam official, who is on the U.S military most-wanted list, managed to evade capture by hiding in a secret space.

Nevertheless, forces allegedly seized some important documents which describe al-Douri's links with al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.

Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, al-Douri has been in hiding, but, according to U.S officials, he has had further contact with insurgents in Iraq.

The U.S authorities in Iraq have offered a reward of US$10 million for any information leading to his capture.