Saddam 'giving information about uprising'

A US commander says Saddam Hussein is providing useful insights into the escalating uprising in Iraq.

Meanwhile, a US soldier was reported to have been killed today when a convoy was struck by a roadside bomb near Baghdad. Suicide bombers had struck at two police stations in Baghdad yesterday, killing eight officers.

Celebrations that erupted in Baghdad and elsewhere on Sunday at the news of Saddam’s capture appeared to dissipate yesterday and early today. Only small groups of Communist Party supporters were seen celebrating in the capital.

Protesters rallied in several Iraqi towns in a show of support for Saddam, casting doubts on claims by the US-led coalition that the people of Iraq universally welcomed his arrest.

American officials said interrogations of Saddam, whose current location was unknown, would focus first on getting intelligence on the uprising.

The US military said it expected the ousted leader would clarify accusations that his armed forces had large arsenals of banned chemical, biological weapons and ballistic missiles, as well as an active programme aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Those allegations were the main argument for the US-led attack and occupation of Iraq, but no weapons have been found almost nine months after the start of the war.

Since Saddam’s capture, US Army teams from the 1st Armoured Division have captured one high-ranking former regime figure – who has yet to be named – and that prisoner has given up a few others, US Army Brig Gen Mark Hertling said.

The intelligence that led the military to the men came from the first transcript of Saddam’s initial interrogation, and a briefcase of documents Saddam carried with him at the time of his arrest, Hertling said.

“We’ve already gleaned intelligence value from his capture,” he said.

US commanders have predicted that the guerrillas may be spurred to fight even harder in the short term, perhaps only to prove that Saddam meant little to them.

“Even if the head of the snake is cut off, the rest of the snake continues to move for a while,” Hertling said. ”There may be an increasing desire to execute attacks.”

Underscoring his warning, suicide bombers attacked two police stations in the north and west of the capital on Monday.

The car bombings left eight policemen dead and at least 17 wounded, police and US officials said.

The attacks were the latest in a spate of suicide bombings this month aimed primarily at US troops and members of the US-sponsored Iraqi security forces which the insurgents view as collaborators of the occupiers.

Meanwhile, demonstrations erupted in several towns in support of the ousted leader.

In Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, about 700 people rallied in the centre of town chanting “Saddam is in our hearts, Saddam is in our blood.” US soldiers and Iraqi policemen yelled back: “Saddam is in our jail.”

A scuffle ensued when security forces arrested the ringleader of the protest, and the demonstrators later dispersed.

In Fallujah, a hotspot of anti-American resistance west of Baghdad, crowds roamed the streets shouting pro-Saddam slogans such as “We defend Saddam with our souls.” Some protesters claimed that the man showed on TV yesterday is not the real Saddam.

In nearby Ramadi, a pro-Saddam protest was held in front of the government building. The crowds opened set ablaze the branch offices of two political parties represented on the US-installed Iraqi Governing Council.