Bomb kills two US soldiers as former top Iraqi general captured

A ROADSIDE bomb killed two US soldiers in Baghdad yesterday, hours after troops captured a former general in Saddam Hussein’s security services on charges of recruiting ex-soldiers to attack Americans.

The blast that ripped through a military convoy in the late morning also killed an Iraqi interpreter and wounded two other soldiers.

The military deaths, the first in five days, brought to 202 the number of American soldiers killed by hostile fire since the US declared major combat over in Iraq on May 1.

Working on what the top American general said was information gleaned when Saddam was captured on December 13, troops have rounded up suspected insurgents in swoops on mainly Sunni Muslim towns north and west of Baghdad.

The Sunni areas have been the scene of the fiercest armed resistance to US occupation and a bedrock of Saddam loyalists.

American officers said the captured man, Major-General Mumtaz al-Taji of the former intelligence department, was detained overnight in searches in the central town of Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad.

He is suspected of recruiting former Iraqi soldiers and directing attacks against American forces.

Witnesses and residents reported similar raids in a number of towns in the area. Dozens of suspected Saddam loyalists, supporters of his Baath party and Islamists are believed to have been arrested.

The military said eight soldiers were wounded during raids in the mainly Sunni Muslim al-Anbar province which netted 40 “enemy personnel.” It did not say how the soldiers were hurt but added that one was evacuated to a combat support hospital.

A military convoy was hit with an explosive device near Habbaniyah, seriously wounding one soldier. Another three soldiers had minor wounds.

A raid in the town of Falluja resulted in the arrest of 25 people, including three on a wanted list. Weapons and ammunitions were also seized, it said.

A US soldier was wounded by small arms fire in an attack in the northern town of Mosul yesterday morning. US forces have stepped up the hunt for guerrillas in the past week, buoyed by the capture of Saddam near his hometown of Tikrit.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers said Saddam’s capture had led to the arrest of “several hundred” Iraqis, including some insurgency leaders.

“Some of the information gleaned when we picked up Saddam Hussein led to a better understanding of the structure of the resistance and the former regime elements,” he said. On the interrogation of Saddam, he said: “The only word I have is that he is not being co-operative.”

Western security sources say the threat of attacks has not diminished with Saddam’s arrest. Intelligence indicates more attacks are planned against American and Western targets over the Christmas period.