By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Mortar and tank fire lit up the night sky over Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit Monday in a show of force to intimidate the resistance, while troops angered residents by mounting their biggest-ever hunt for weapons and explosives in a middle class Baghdad area.
Meanwhile, in the town of Ramadi west of Baghdad, troops announced they had arrested an organizer a leader of the Fedayeen guerrillas responsible for bomb attacks and ambushes on U.S. forces. The suspect, Kazim Mohammed Faris, was a "high value target," a military statement said.
U.S. forces have reacted to the increasing attacks in which dozens of Americans and their allies have died by mounting a massive show of force in central and northern Iraq.
Buildings factories and other facilities believed used as staging areas for guerrilla attacks have been bombed from the air and blasted by artillery barrages. Troops have carried out dozens of raids aimed at apprehending suspects and seizing weapons and bomb-making materials.
One such "cordon-and-search" raid early Monday in Baghdad's middle-class Azamiyah district netted 21 suspects along with 30 Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 handguns. Most suspects had violated a one weapon per house rule.
Some 2,000 troops of the 1st Armored Division — backed by tanks, armored vehicles and low-flying helicopters took part in the nighttime raid, sealing off a 20 block area and searching every single building inside it.
Col. Charles Sexton, commander of one of three participating battalions expressed satisfaction that the massive searches had gone off without incident.
But many citizens of the neighborhood next to the Tigris River said they were puzzled by the choice of target, because the area — which is home to bureaucrats, lawyers and other professionals — has not seen any rebel activity. Saddam was last seen in public in the neighborhood in April.
Some also were furious that troops were arresting men who had more than the single AK-47 now allowed by the coalition forces. At least a dozen of those taken away were detained after the army confiscated revolvers or bird guns that could not have presented a serious threat to the security of the occupying forces.
"Of course everybody has weapons," said Samir al-Hadith, an engineer who works in Saudi Arabia and had returned to Baghdad to check on his home. "There are so many thieves nowadays. we have to defend our families."
"Under Saddam Hussein there was much more security and we could own guns," he said.
Zuheir Ali, 26, was detained after troops found a snub-nose .38 Smith & Wesson revolver in his house along with an AK-47. They left the automatic rifle but confiscated the handgun.
"I don't understand this, we're not criminals, we only want to defend our homes from looters," Ali said.
Journalists accompanying the troops during the bitterly cold night were offered hot tea by several of the residents.
"But no tea for the soldiers," said Lamya Shaheen Ahmed who stood on the sidewalk with her mother and two sisters after troops had gone through their house.
Another such raid was mounted Monday in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, where hundreds of soldiers rolled into the town center in Bradley armored vehicles.
The show of force was mounted "just to display their number and might," said Lt. Col. Steven Russell.
Meanwhile, a tape purportedly made by Saddam Hussein urged the rebels to escalate attacks against the occupation and "agents brought by foreign armies" — an apparent reference to Iraqis supporting the coalition.
The speaker on the tape, aired on Al-Arabiya television, said the only way to end the chaos in Iraq was for Saddam and his now-outlawed Baath Party to return to power.
The CIA said it would review the tape for its authenticity. President Bush dismissed the recording.
"The evil ones now find themselves in crisis and this is God's will for them," he said.
The speaker also lashed out at Iraqis who cooperate with the U.S. military, calling them "stray dogs that walk alongside the caravan."
The last purported tape from Saddam was aired on Arab television Sept. 17. The CIA has been unable to authenticate that recording, saying the audio quality is too poor.
Faced with a deteriorating security situation, the U.S.-led coalition has bowed to demands from Iraqi politicians and agreed to speed the transfer of power. The new formula, announced Saturday by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, calls for a provisional, sovereign government to be established by June.
However, France's foreign minister said in an interview published Monday in the French daily Le Croix that the plan to moves too slowly. Dominique de Villepin urged the Americans to have a provisional government in place by the end of 2003.
Two US Army soldiers from 1-22, 4th ID fire a mortar round from one of their compounds in Tikrit. US forces put on a massive show of strength, firing tank cannons, mortar bombs and helicopter guns near the northern Iraqi city.(AFP/Roberto Schmidt)
A soldier of U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, left and a member of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) hold their weapons in the center of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003. U.S. Hundreds of American troops on foot, tanks and assault vehicles paraded across the crowded downtown area of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s hometown Monday to display America's military might and deliver a warning that resistance fighters would be crushed. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division (Task Force Ironhorse), Spc. Jonn Dallov, guards the center in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003. A U.S. Army M1 Abrams tanks is seen background. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
An Iraqi boy stands inside his house while U.S. soldiers prepare to enter it during a search for weapons as part of their 'Iron Hammer' operation, in the Abu Ghraib neighborhood near Baghdad November 17, 2003. U.S. forces in Iraq have adopted tough new tactics this month in response to deadly guerrilla attacks and the downing of several American helicopters. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
American soldiers 1st Armored Division, 1st battalion, 36th infantry regiment, raid Baghdad's, Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, Monday Nov. 17, 2003. Troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters searched a number of houses netting 30 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 pistols. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)
An American soldier, officer from the 1st Armored Division, 1st battalion, 36th infantry regiment, checks a map in Baghdad's Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, Monday Nov. 17, 2003. Troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters searched a number of houses netting 30 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 pistols. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)
US soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, 1st battalion, 36th infantry regiment, order a man to unlock doors in Baghdad's Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003. Troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters searched a number of houses netting 30 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 pistols. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)
US soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, 1st battalion, 36th infantry regiment, search a home in Baghdad's, Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003. Troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters searched a number of houses netting 30 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 pistols. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)
US soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, 1st battalion, 36th infantry regiment, order a man to unlock doors in Baghdad's Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Azamiyah, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003. Troops backed by armored vehicles and helicopters searched a number of houses netting 30 automatic rifles, about a dozen shotguns and 10 pistols. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)