Saddam's top bodyguard arrested

One of Saddam Hussein's closest bodyguards was arrested today as the US military continued to raid homes in the heartland of the former Iraqi dictator's supporters.

The dawn raids in Tikrit, 100 miles north of the capital Baghdad, are part of a massive push by American Special Forces - codenamed Task Force 20 - that are hunting Saddam.

The raids are concentrated in two areas - in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and in Baghdad. The US has refused to discuss the raids which have been taking place virtually around the clock over the past three days.

However, there has been a growing confidence from the American military leadership in Iraq that they are "on Saddam's coat-tails" as the $25million (£16.5 million) reward on the former dictator's head entices more informants to come forward.

US army spokeswoman Sergeant Amy Abbot said: "We're close to catching Saddam. A lot of people are stepping forward with information. He's running out of places to hide."

Today's raids - one in Tikrit itself and one in Al Ouja, a village five miles south on the banks of the River Tigris - followed specific intelligence information which the US says is now "pouring in" following last week's killings of sons Uday and Qusay in Mosul. Washington has made much of its plan to pay out $30 million (£20 million) to the person who tipped them off about Saddam's sons.

Jef f Fitzgibbons, a spokesman for the US army, said: "Several men were captured but one of them is believed to be a very close member of the Saddam Hussein security detail.

"It doesn't appear there was a serious fight at the time, it looks like we may have had the success of being able to get in there and apprehend them without any forewarning so we were able to avoid any exchange of gunfire."

It is believed the Americans did not face any armed resistance in today's raids.

However, raids on a house two days ago continue to cause anger following the killing of five Iraqi people who were driving by at the time.

Calls by local residents for an independent inquiry into the shootings in the Mansour district have been met by a refusal by the US-led administration in Baghdad.

Washington hopes that finding Saddam would help end a guerrilla campaign that has killed 50 US troops since President Bush declared major combat over on 1 May.

Today US General Richard B Myers said that Central Iraq, from Baghdad to Tikrit, was still a war zone. Gen Myers, who was in India on a courtesy visit to discuss continuing US-Indian military cooperation, said: "It's still a very challenging environment, a very hard environment."

He said US analysts believed that most of the resistance to US troops came from remnants of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein, members of his Ba'ath Party, the Republican Guard, plus criminals he had released from prison.