Troops seize family of 'rebel mastermind'

US soldiers have seized four relatives of the man America believes is masterminding attacks against its troops, in early morning raids today.

The raids in Samarra netted four family members, including two nephews of former Iraqi vice president Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, considered the top organiser of attacks against US forces in Iraq and the most senior Iraqi fugitive still at large.

The military said the arrest of the nephews – believed to be helping al-Douri remain in hiding – could help bring coalition forces closer to his capture. Al-Douri, a Revolutionary Command Council vice chairman and long-time Saddam confidant, is number six on the US list of 55 most wanted Iraqis.

Meanwhile, rebels brought down a US Army Apache attack helicopter, the third aircraft lost this month, west of Baghdad. Coalition troops killed three Iraqis in cities outside the capital, relatives and police said.

In Fallujah, also west of Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis protested, shouting: “Bush, you coward!” after American troops detained a woman while searching for a Saddam Hussein loyalist. The 17-year-old newlywed was freed after several hours of questioning.

The AH-64 helicopter gunship from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment crashed near the town of Habbaniyah, but the two crew members escaped injury, military spokesman Col William Darley said.

“It was apparently downed by enemy fire,” he said. The helicopter was covering a ground convoy moving in the area, the US Central Command said.

In the same area, a medevac air ambulance helicopter was downed on January 6, killing nine US soldiers. A Kiowa Warrior helicopter was shot down in the area on January 2, killing the pilot.

Following the demonstration in Fallujah, gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at US forces guarding city hall. The soldiers returned fire, killing two people and wounding four, witnesses, police and hospital staff said.

The dead included a 33-year-old woman shot in the home of her sister, and Ahmed Naji, 37, whose car crashed in a hail of gunfire. Naji’s brother and father were seriously wounded, police Capt Taha al-Falahi said.

“Our rights are gone and lost. See how beautiful democracy is. They take the women away. They kill the youth. We are living in luxury,” Naji’s cousin Khalil Ibrahim said.

Ukrainian troops opened fire to disperse several hundred protesters demanding jobs in Kut, 90 miles south east of Baghdad. One man was killed and two other people were wounded in the second straight day of violent demonstrations in the mainly Shiite Muslim city.

The military was investigating another apparent shooting of civilians by Americans – four Iraqis, including a seven-year-old boy, killed in a taxi near Tikrit on January 3. A battalion commander in Tikrit, Lt Col Steve Russell, said it was “likely” that coalition forces killed the four.

Al-Douri has a $5.5m (€7.9m) bounty on his head.

About 40 soldiers from 720th Military Police Battalion raided the two houses after a tip-off.

Lt Col David Poirier, told an Associated Press reporter with the troops that they were searching for the nephews in hopes of finding al-Douri.

“One of these days his head will rise up above the water, and we will be able to capture him as well,” Poirier said.

The suspects were believed to be in close touch with al-Douri, finding safe houses for him.

The military said the two other relatives’ connection to the uprising, if any, was not immediately clear.

The raid began as the troops poured out of heavily-armoured Humvees into a darkly-lit Samarra neighbourhood, supported by Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.

Soldiers climbed over a 7ft fence into garden of a house before gaining entry into the home, capturing three men.

One of the Iraqis informed the soldiers of the whereabouts of the second man the US troops were targeting. The troops captured him in a nearby home.