"This is the worst development yet..."
Posted on 08/06/2003 6:45:21 PM PDT by Dog
US says nets Iraq guerrilla chiefs in Tikrit raids
By Alastair Macdonald
TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Saddam Hussein's home town said they seized three suspected guerrilla leaders on Thursday in overnight raids that included sealing off a street with tanks and briefly detaining dozens of men.
One man arrested after 39 men were turned out of a workers hostel, handcuffed and questioned by soldiers in the street may have been a "national level fedayeen leader", funding and arming resistance to the U.S. occupation beyond Tikrit itself, raid commander Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell said.
The man may also be linked to an attempted attack nearby on U.S. forces 24 hours earlier, he said, when troops shot a man who they said was about to fire a rocket-propelled grenade.
The two others were believed to have been generals under Saddam and were detained in separate raids at an undisclosed village south of Tikrit, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad. About a dozen other people there were still being questioned.
The three men held were believed to have held meetings, Russell said: "We're very interested to know what they were up to." There was no indication they had close personal links to Saddam himself, who U.S. commanders say may well be in hiding nearby.
In Tikrit, as Abrams tanks and other armoured vehicles sealed the area and helicopters clattered overhead in the dark, troops charged up stairways, banging doors. They made men kneel in the street, heads down and hands cuffed behind their backs with plastic ties. Interpreters handled the flow of questions.
The targeted suspect was taken away blindfolded. The 38 others held at the city hostel were released after about an hour with apologies from the commander. They were mostly labourers and artisans from southern Iraq, Russell said. One man thanked the soldiers profusely -- in English -- when freed.
U.S. troops say they are seeking a balance between capturing or killing those who are attacking them and alienating the local population with strong-arm tactics.
"We went in with a lot of force," Russell said. "As we cast a wide net for sharks, we catch dolphins too. And we apologise."
In all, nearly 400 troops took part in the lightning operations. Russell said he was taking no chances as the raids took in large numbers of men and he had reports of weapons stores and trading in the area of the city that was sealed off.
He described those arrested as Saddam "loyalists" but said only further questioning would determine what information they might have about the whereabouts of the fugitive dictator.
"I think we are eroding all of the support of the former regime," he said. "We have planned raids thinking he (Saddam) might be there and will continue to do so."
(Additional reporting by Miran Jelenek)
I want the liberal DemonRats to cry about this war every day. The more they do, the more they screw themselves and their skiffy socialist agenda.
YEAH,they get the RPG on Friday.
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