US forces hunting Saddam Hussein said yesterday they had captured one of his closest aides, but American troops trying to impose order in Baghdad inflamed Iraqi anger by firing on protesters, killing two.
To the south of the city centre, a US soldier was shot dead and another wounded in a drive-by shooting, the latest in a series of deadly ambushes that have killed at least 42 US soldiers since Washington declared major combat over on May 1.
A US army spokesman said Saddam's presidential secretary and senior bodyguard, Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, had been captured on Monday. He was fourth on a US list of 55 most wanted Iraqis and the highest placed to have been seized so far.
He was the Ace of Diamonds in a pack of cards depicting Iraqi fugitives that has been issued to US troops. During Saddam's rule, his presidential secretary was rarely far from his side.
The only fugitives higher on the wanted list are Saddam himself, whose fate remains unknown, and his two notorious sons Uday and Qusay. The presidential secretary worked on security with Qusay, overseeing the roughly 100 members of Saddam's Presidential Secretariat, who were drawn from security agencies, according to Western press reports.
News of the capture came as a senior US general said troops raided two farmhouses near Saddam's home town of Tikrit yesterday, capturing as many as 50 of Saddam's Special Republican Guard and security forces.
Major General Ray Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a teleconference from Tikrit that his troops also seized $8.5 million dollars, 300 to 400 million Iraqi dinars, uncounted English pounds and Euros and jewels valued at up to $1 million.
In Baghdad, Iraqi anger at the US-led administration boiled over into bloodshed. At least one American soldier opened fire on sacked Iraqi army officers who massed outside the US administration headquarters demanding jobs and wages.
The US military said it acted in self-defence. "A military convoy was entering the compound when demonstrators began throwing rocks," an army statement said. "One demonstrator pulled out a weapon and began shooting. US forces responded, killing two of the demonstrators."