US army says Saddam in hometown area recently

9.00am

TIKRIT, Iraq - Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is believed to have been near his hometown of Tikrit recently and is leading resistance to the US-led occupation, a senior officer of the US Army unit controlling the area said Monday.


"We have clear indications that Saddam was here recently," said Major Troy Smith, executive officer of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division. "Do I know where he is? No."


Smith added that the fugitive former president might still be in the area around Tikrit, about 95 miles north of Baghdad. He declined to provide details but said residents had told US forces Saddam was in the region.


Smith told reporters in a briefing the area around Tikrit was the last bastion for Saddam and his supporters.


"We feel like we're dealing with Custer's Last Stand of (Saddam's) Baath Party in this area," he said. "It's really the only area he's got left."


Saddam was a Sunni Muslim and drew strong support from the Sunni heartland north and west of Baghdad, where Tikrit lies. Dubbed the "Sunni Triangle," the area is now a hotbed of anti-American guerrilla activity.


In the latest attack on US troops there, the gunner on a Bradley fighting vehicle was killed in central Tikrit Monday when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the vehicle. A second soldier died northwest of Baiji, about 20 miles north of Tikrit, late Sunday when his Bradley hit a mine.


Saddam has a $25 million reward on his head and is the ace of spades in a US military deck of cards of most-wanted Iraqis. Saddam's sons and many others high on the US list have been killed or captured.


A chart Smith displayed showing US projections of the guerrillas' organisation in the brigade's area of responsibility put Saddam at the top. The 1st Brigade occupies a swathe of Salahaddin province in central Iraq roughly centred on Tikrit.


Smith said the insurgents headed by Saddam were bankrolling attacks on US forces, often hiring people with little weapons experience.


He said those fighting the US-led occupation have switched tactics in recent months away from close-quarter attacks to assaults using bombs often placed on roadsides, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.


"As long as he can remain relevant there is still the possibility that he can disrupt coalition forces," Smith said.

Herald Feature: Iraq