Troops handed 'Saddam letter'

American soldiers have allegedly been handed a letter from Saddam Hussein offering his terms of surrender.

The development comes amid further claims that he is still alive and active in Iraq.

Saddam passed the handwritten document to Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti shortly before the former aide was captured by US forces last week, it has been claimed.

In the letter Saddam called for "fair treatment" by the allied forces for himself and that his family be allowed safe passage from Iraq to another Arab country.

In return he promised order an end to the rebel attacks on the occupying American soldiers, which have claimed 40 lives since the official end of hostilities.

Saddam also offered to help build links between the Iraqi people and the Americans.

King Abdullah of Jordan has said he believes Saddam was still on the run inside Iraq and was "moving around the north-western area".

In an interview with American television, he said reports that Saddam had been seen were "like Elvis". He added: "There's a lot of sightings of him all over the place."

Last week it was reported that an American air-strike may have killed Saddam and several of his closest followers in northern Iraq. But Pentagon officials have played down reports that they are testing human remains to see if they match the missing dictator and his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

Although intelligence teams have arrived to search the wreckage of vehicles for DNA samples, sources in Washington say they are unaware of bodies being found.