American forces captured six people today who are ”closely tied” to Saddam Hussein and his regime and are suspected of anti-coalition activities including attacks on helicopters, a US commander said.

American soldiers sealed off the village where Saddam Hussein was born today and ordered adults to register for identity cards that will allow them to move in and out of the community.

Iraqi guerrillas broke a period of relative calm today, attacking an American patrol in Baghdad with explosives as soldiers were about to drive into a tunnel.

GUERRILLAS killed two American soldiers north of Baghdad, and US forces yesterday said they were holding two key members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard and a paymaster for his feared Fedayeen militia.

Two men, described as important associates of Saddam Hussein, were captured when 100 US troops raided two houses in the deposed Iraqi dictator’s home town of Tikrit today.