US returns injured Syrians

US troops had been holding the five guards

The United States has handed back five Syrian border guards wounded in an attack on a convoy near the border with Iraq, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld said.

Mr Rumsfeld confirmed an earlier report from the Syrian news agency Sana that the soldiers had been repatriated saying: "The five Syrians were wounded. They were treated. They're all back in Syria."

The guards were wounded and detained on 18 June, when US special forces attacked the convoy - thought to have been carrying deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and one of his sons.

Syria had protested against the attack and demanded the return of its soldiers.

Task Force 20

The Sana news agency said the guards were taken to hospital for further treatment but gave no details about when or where the handover took place.

The White House had said Iraqi leaders were the targets of the operation, and US defence officials said the convoy was believed to be carrying supporters of Saddam Hussein when it was hit.

US officials said it was not clear if the fighting had strayed over into Syrian territory during the attack near the desert border post of Abu Kamal.

It is unclear whether the former Iraqi president was in the convoy, but US officials are reported to have carried out DNA tests on the victims.

Mr Rumsfeld said that 20 people from the convoy had been captured in the skirmish and about 17 released immediately.

He added that US forces had "good intelligence about potential high value targets" but did not know who they were.

Mr Rumsfeld said the remaining detainees had not yet been identified and that it was not clear whether they were senior members of the ousted Iraqi regime.

The search for Saddam Hussein has been led by Task Force 20, which specialises in covert actions and works closely with American intelligence agencies.

On Sunday the chief US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, told the BBC he thought the chances of catching Saddam Hussein were "very high".

In a BBC interview, he said the failure to capture or kill the deposed Iraqi president was hampering coalition efforts to control the country.

Grenade attack

Meanwhile an Australian news worker has been injured during an attack on a US security patrol, according to US Central Command.

"Embedded" television sound man Jeremy Little, of NBC, was hurt when the patrol he was travelling with came under fire from a rocket-propelled grenade which heavily damaged an Avenger air defence vehicle.

No soldiers were injured in the attack and Mr Little's injuries are said to be "serious but not life threatening".

Three Iraqis died when their pick-up truck, travelling without lights near the incident, crashed into a US vehicle helping evacuate Mr Little.

US troops have continued to carry out raids and searches in Baghdad and across Iraq as part of their latest offensive against resistance fighters.

Searches as part of Operation Sidewinder have resulted in weapons hauls and the arrest of a Baath party colonel.

US Central Command said 319 Iraqis had also been arrested for various criminal activities, including murder and kidnapping, as a result of patrols and raids across the country.