US troops arrest former Iraqi Republican Guard chief

US troops arrested a high ranking Iraqi officer who once served as a chief of staff of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard, the military said today.

Thirteen other men, including a Saddam bodyguard, were also taken into custody during the raid on the outskirts of Tikrit, the former dictator’s home town.

All were members of a family that served as a pillar of support for Saddam’s regime, said US Lt Col Steve Russell. He declined to name the detainees.

“They were trying to support the remnants of the former regime by organising attacks, through funding and by trying to hide former regime members,” he said.

In Baghdad, Iraq’s US administrator urged Iraqis and the world to look beyond the daily shoot-outs and power cuts to the newly found freedoms in Iraq.

“I do not accept the definition of a country in chaos. Most of this country is at peace,” Paul Bremer said.

“We have a problem with attacks against coalition forces in a small area of the country by a small group of bitter-end people who are resisting the new Iraq.

“We will deal with them and we will dominate them. They will either be killed or they will be captured,” he said.

He said that while Iraqis complain of unsafe streets and power shortages, they must also realise that Saddam’s fall has improved their lives.

“I think it is important to ... look beyond the shoot-outs and black-outs and remind ourselves of a range of rights that Iraqis enjoy today because of the coalition’s military victory,” he said.

Meanwhile, 12 miles north of the capital, in an area called al-Taji, a burst pipeline shot flames 200ft into the air and sent black clouds over the city.

US military spokeswoman Nicole Thompson confirmed there was a pipeline fire but had no further details.

It was unclear whether the fire was an accident or the work of saboteurs.

A US soldier was killed while riding in a Humvee in Ramadi yesterday, a site of frequent attacks on American troops 60 miles west of Baghdad.

A US military spokesman said the convoy was hit by three roadside bombs wired to explode in succession. Two other soldiers were wounded.

Another American soldier was found dead in his bunk yesterday at a Ramadi base. In Mosul, in the far north of the country, the US military reported a soldier died when his Humvee collided with a taxi.