TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces captured a Saddam Hussein bodyguard and two associates of the deposed Iraqi president -- including a purported leader of a paramilitary group staging deadly attacks -- in raids Tuesday in Tikrit, a U.S. military official said.
Backed by armored vehicles and helicopter gunships in the raids, the U.S. soldiers captured the longtime bodyguard from the "inner circle to [Saddam's] immediate family," according to Lt. Col. Steve Russell of the 4th Infantry Division.
The bodyguard struggled with soldiers and received some blows to the head. In video images shot by a CNN cameraman, blood could be seen seeping through a head covering.
Also captured was a brigadier general who is believed to be a top official of the Fedayeen Saddam -- the same paramilitary group that plagued U.S. forces in hit-and-run attacks in southern Iraq during the early days of the war.
The other detainee is an ex-security manager for Saddam's palaces in the Tikrit area in north-central Iraq.
Tikrit is Saddam's ancestral hometown, where support of the former regime is strong
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/29/sprj.irq.main/index.html
Backed by armored vehicles and helicopter gunships in the raids, the U.S. soldiers captured the longtime bodyguard from the "inner circle to [Saddam's] immediate family," according to Lt. Col. Steve Russell of the 4th Infantry Division.
The bodyguard struggled with soldiers and received some blows to the head. In video images shot by a CNN cameraman, blood could be seen seeping through a head covering.
Also captured was a brigadier general who is believed to be a top official of the Fedayeen Saddam -- the same paramilitary group that plagued U.S. forces in hit-and-run attacks in southern Iraq during the early days of the war.
The other detainee is an ex-security manager for Saddam's palaces in the Tikrit area in north-central Iraq.
Tikrit is Saddam's ancestral hometown, where support of the former regime is strong
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/29/sprj.irq.main/index.html