Saddam information helps round up insurgents

THE United States has used information gained during interrogations of Saddam Hussein to help round up insurgents and identify false leads, a senior military official said yesterday.

American military officials believe about 14 cells of Saddam loyalists are operating in Iraq’s capital, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. There are about 250 to 300 “hard core” insurgents in those cells, the official said.

Documents found with the ousted Iraqi president and information gleaned during interrogations have helped US troops disrupt those cells and track their finances, the official said. He would not say what information Saddam might have given his American interrogators.