US soldier killed in grenade attack

AMERICAN soldiers were attacked in broad daylight in the centre of Baghdad yesterday when a grenade was dropped into their vehicle from a bridge.

The US said one soldier was killed and three were injured in the attack.

The death brought to 49 the number of soldiers killed in a guerrilla war since May 1, when President George Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq.

In all, 163 American soldiers have died in combat in Iraq, 16 more than were killed in the 1991 Gulf War.

Some of the ever increasing attacks on US forces were blamed on "hired assassins," by the land forces commander Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.

He said the sophistication of the raids had increased over the last 30 days.

"This is what I would call a terrorist magnet where America, being present here in Iraq, creates a target of opportunity if you will," Sanchez told CNN.

He did not elaborate on the nationalities, but said there was no evidence any country was sponsoring the fighters.

"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," Sanchez said.

"We have to understand that we have a multiple-faceted conflict going on here in Iraq. 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."

In the centre of the capital, witnesses said at least three US soldiers were injured in an attack on their convoy.

"I saw at least two injured soldiers, then I saw the third one who was thrown out of the car. Other soldiers pulled him under the car," said witness Alim Naati.

The hunt for Saddam Hussein continued apace. Saying that "the noose is tightening" around the deposed dictator and his top aides, US forces raided suspected safe houses in Baghdad and northern Tikrit.

They said Saddam is unable to mount a resistance because he's too busy "trying to save his own skin."

In Tikrit, US forces dug up freshly buried weapons, found outside an abandoned building that once belonged to Saddam's Fedayeen militia. The munitions were sufficient for a month of guerrilla attacks on US troops, said Major Bryan Luke.

The discovery "saved a few lives out there," Luke said. "Forty mines could have caused a lot of problems for US forces here in Tikrit."

Iraqi contractors hired by the 101st Airborne Division, meanwhile, began to demolish the house in northern Mosul where Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed in a gun battle last week. At least twice in the past week, American soldiers have raided houses where they believed they may have missed Saddam by less than 24 hours once in the northern city of Mosul, and once at a farmhouse near Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and power base.

The military would not confirm a raid in Baghdad's exclusive Mansour neighbourhood. Witnesses said soldiers shot their way into the home of Prince Rabiah Muhammed al-Habib, one of Iraq's most influential tribal leaders.

The prince, who wasn't at home at the time of the raid, said he believed the Americans were looking for Saddam.

"I found the house was searched in a very rough way. It seems the Americans came thinking Saddam Hussein was inside my house," al-Habib said.

US soldiers shot at several cars and bystanders that approached the mansion during the raid, witnesses said, and one hospital reported at least five Iraqis were killed.

That raid came hours after troops of the 4th Infantry Division moved in on three farms in the Tikrit area in search of Saddam's new security chief, and perhaps the ousted dictator himself.

"We missed him by 24 hours," said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell, who led the operation.

"The noose is tightening around these guys," said Colonel James Hickey, a brigade commander.

"They're running out of places to hide, and it's becoming difficult for them to move because we're everywhere. Any day now we're going to knock on their door, or kick in their door, and they know it."