US troops 'narrowly missed top Saddam bodyguard'

United States soldiers said today that they missed catching Saddam Hussein’s security chief – and possibly the former dictator himself – by a mere 24 hours.

Troops stormed three farms in Tikrit, Saddam’s home town, in simultaneous pre-dawn raids early today after receiving a tip that Saddam’s new security chief was staying at one of the farmhouses, said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell, who led the operation, by units of the 4th Infantry.

“We missed him by 24 hours,” Russell said, adding that residents had told soldiers that the man they sought had been at one of the farm houses.

On Thursday, US troops captured a group of men believed to include five to 10 of Saddam’s bodyguards in a raid in Tikrit.

After that soldiers learned that Saddam’s new security chief and possibly the dictator himself were staying on one of the farms, Russell said.

“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.”

The army would not name the man they had targeted, but said he was believed to have taken over Saddam’s security after the arrest on June 17 of Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, Saddam’s cousin and presidential secretary.

Mahmud, who was number four on the US list of most wanted Iraqis, controlled all access to Saddam.

He and Saddam’s younger son, Qusay Hussein – killed last week in a firefight with US troops in the northern city of Mosul along with his brother, Uday – were believed to be the only two people trusted with knowledge about Saddam’s whereabouts.

Hundreds of soldiers, backed by Bradley fighting vehicles, surrounded the farms as Apache attack helicopters hovered above. No shots were fired.

About 25 men were in the houses and emerged peacefully. They were briefly detained and released later today.