Iraq

Hussein top aide eludes hunters

The ex-Iraqi leader is so busy trying to survive, says a general, that he can't direct attacks. But they continue.

American forces in Iraq focused their hunt for Saddam Hussein around his Tigris River hometown of Tikrit and reported a near-miss Sunday in a raid to capture his new chief of security - and perhaps the ousted dictator himself.

A U.S. soldier was killed south of Baghdad, the latest death in a spike of guerrilla attacks. But the highest-ranking U.S. military officer said Sunday that U.S. troops in Iraq are "undaunted" by the attacks.

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said former President Saddam Hussein is moving around to avoid capture and is unable to direct attacks against American forces.

Hussein, Myers said, is "trying so hard to save his own skin" that he is having "no impact on the security situation here."

Troops of the 4th Infantry Division, acting on tips from informers, hit three farms in the Tikrit region in a predawn attack but learned their target, the security chief, had left the area the day before.

"We missed him by 24 hours," said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the operation that was witnessed by an Associated Press reporter.

The raid was prompted by Thursday's capture in Tikrit of a group of men believed to include as many as 10 Hussein bodyguards. Soldiers learned from them that Hussein's new security chief - and possibly the dictator himself - were staying at one of the farms, Russell said.

Hundreds of soldiers, backed by Bradley fighting vehicles, surrounded the farms as Apache attack helicopters hovered above. No shots were fired as about 25 men emerged from the houses peacefully. They were detained briefly and released later Sunday.

"The noose is tightening around these guys," said Col. James Hickey, a brigade commander. "They're running out of places to hide, and it's becoming difficult for them to move because we're everywhere. Any day now we're going to knock on their door, or kick in their door, and they know it."

Myers visited 4th Infantry commanders in Tikrit on Sunday and met with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq.

Myers acknowledged that the number of attacks has not decreased since Hussein's sons were killed in Mosul but said there has been a "big spike in the number of Iraqis coming forward" with tips about the location of arms caches and with other useful information about elements of the deposed regime.

Myers, who planned to leave Iraq today, said a tip had led to the discovery of 45,000 sticks of dynamite, several surface-to-air missiles and other weaponry in a raid two days after the brothers were killed. Myers said removing the sons, who were infamous for their brutality, has removed a big obstacle for those who want to cooperate with U.S. forces.

"Fear ruled this country. You wouldn't dare come forward in the past without fear that your children or some member of your family would be tortured or killed or drug off to jail, so, as you remove elements of fear, then other things become possible," he said.

In Tikrit, the Army would not name the target of its raids, but said he was believed to have taken over Hussein's security after the June 17 arrest of Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, Hussein's cousin and presidential secretary.

Mahmud, who was No. 4 on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis, controlled all access to Hussein. He and Qusay Hussein, one of Hussein's sons, were believed to be the only two people trusted with knowledge of Hussein's whereabouts.

The U.S. military also had mounted a mission to get Hussein on Tuesday in Mosul after killing Qusay and his brother, Uday, the AP reported, quoting a military source familiar with the operation. The second raid by elements of the 101st Airborne Division came after intelligence sources reported Hussein as being at a different location in the city.

The raid missed Hussein by a matter of hours, the AP reported, quoting the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Later Sunday, U.S. forces raided the home of Prince Rabiah Muhammed al-Habib in an upscale west Baghdad neighborhood and killed an undetermined number of people, witnesses said. One hospital reported at least five Iraqis killed.

The prince, one of Iraq's most influential tribal leaders, was not there when the raid occurred but told the AP he believed the Americans were searching for Hussein.

"I found the house was searched in a very rough way. It seems the Americans came thinking Saddam Hussein was inside my house," al-Habib said without elaborating.

The American military said it would have no comment on ongoing operations.

The military said it had no further information on the 2:35 a.m. attack that killed the U.S. soldier. The death brought to 48 the number of U.S. forces killed in combat in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

So far, 163 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, 16 more than were killed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

There had been hope that the killings of Uday and Qusay Hussein might demoralize the resistance. Instead, their deaths appear to have inspired a wave of revenge attacks.

In Karbala, hundreds of angry demonstrators gathered at the Imam al-Hussein Shrine, Iraq's second-holiest site for Shiite Muslims, protesting the alleged shooting by U.S. forces Saturday night of a 51-year-old restaurant worker.

U.S. soldiers, accompanied by local Iraqi police, tried to enter the shrine but were blocked by Haider Hanoon, the alleged victim, and workers inside, witnesses said. Troops and police allegedly withdrew after the shooting, in which nine people were wounded.

The U.S. military in Baghdad said it had no information on the incident.

In another development, the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera said U.S. troops arrested one of its journalists in northern Iraq, but American military officials said they knew nothing about the reported detention.

Al-Jazeera reported that U.S. soldiers detained Nawfal al-Shahwani and his driver Saturday in Mosul, the third time a journalist from the Qatar-based station reportedly has been detained by American troops since Hussein's regime was ousted.

- Information from the Associated Press and Washington Post was used in this report.

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