US intensifies Saddam hunt

As US troops hunt for Saddam they continue to come under attack

A raid in Baghdad by elite US troops searching for Saddam Hussein has reportedly left up to five Iraqi civilians dead.

An angry crowd gathered outside a house in the upmarket Mansur suburb of the capital after the raid involving Task Force 20 troops.

In a separate operation, US forces also raided farms in the Tikrit area early on Sunday in an unsuccessful bid to snatch the former Iraqi leader's security chief.

America's top soldier, General Richard Myers, who has visited Tikrit said that Saddam Hussein's capture was "just a matter of time".

The number of Iraqis supplying information on his possible whereabouts had risen greatly since the killing of his sons Uday and Qusay on Tuesday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

But the US-led forces continue to come under attack from resistance fighters - five American troops were killed within 24 hours over the weekend.

Terror magnet

The commander of US ground forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, says the country is becoming a "magnet" for foreign terrorists.

He said the sophistication of the attacks, usually blamed on Saddam Hussein loyalists, had increased over the last month.

We've got terrorist activity, we've got former regime leadership, we have criminals and we have some hired assassins that are attacking our soldiers on a daily basis Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez

"We have a multi-faceted conflict going on here in Iraq," he told CNN.

"The key that we must not lose sight of is that we must win this battle here in Iraq. Otherwise America will find itself taking on these terrorists at home."

Troops from the Task Force 20 squad smashed doors and windows to enter the house in Mansur.

They opened fire as a car pulled up in the street during the search and the occupants of at least one vehicle were hit.

A pool of blood lay in the road outside, and Baghdad's central hospital reported five deaths.

Local people accused the Americans of "hysteria", the BBC's Mike Donkin reports from the scene.

It is thought, our correspondent says, that the squad believed a relative of Saddam - perhaps his son Ali from his second wife - was hiding in the house.

But they left after a search, making no arrests.

The house owner, tribal chief Prince Sabir Rabiyah, was not there during the raid but later told reporters he had not seen Saddam since the end of the war.

"It seems the Americans came thinking Saddam Hussein was inside my house," he told AP news agency.

Tikrit raids

A crowd at the scene condemned what they called a terrible attack on innocent civilians, saying it would only turn more people against an occupying force.

Soldiers of the US 4th Infantry Division say they came within hours of catching Saddam's security chief and perhaps the ousted leader himself in pre-dawn raids earlier on Sunday on three farms near Saddam's home town, Tikrit.

General Myers visited his troops after five combat deaths in 24 hours

They had acted after receiving a tip-off that the security chief was staying at one of the farmhouses, said the operation leader, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell.

"He is one that has inherited some of the power after others have been captured or killed. So we acted quickly on the intelligence but it looks like we've probably missed him by about 24 hours."

In Tikrit on Thursday, 4th Infantry Division troops captured a group of men believed to include between five and 10 of Saddam's bodyguards.

General Myers said on Sunday that the mounting toll of casualties among America's 144,000 troops in Iraq was understandable.

"We understand that there will be casualties," he said.

"The soldiers understand exactly what this is all about."

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on 1 May, at least 49 US soldiers have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq.