In three pre-dawn raids near former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's hometown, US troops yesterday detained four suspects, two believed linked to the ousted leader's special security operations force, the US military said.
"We are satisfied we found the individuals we wanted to," said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Division, which is based here.
The raids involved consecutive storming of three houses in a residential neighborhood about 10km north of Tikrit. Saddam's hometown has become a center for financing and coordinating attacks on American soldiers.
At the last location, the raiders questioned a suspect, a man in his 50s, who said he had worked in Saddam's Special Security Office. In a long white traditional Arabic dress, the man was led away blindfolded, his hands tied behind his back. His 15-year-old son was released.
The older man was "expected to be of great intelligence value," Russell said.
"We cast a wide net, sometimes we get a dolphin, sometimes we get a shark," he said.
A detailed search of the man's house uncovered a leather portfolio of photographs of Saddam at various official occasions. The man said he had left Baghdad shortly before the city's fall in April and had come to his family home near Tikrit.
Earlier in the week, an Iraqi informer had pointed out the three homes in walled-in compounds less than 2km apart, as possible locations for explosive-making devices, Russell said.
The raiders were enforced by Bradley fighting vehicles and three Abrams tanks which were at hand in case of possible explosives.
No explosives or bomb-making devices were found in the raids yesterday but the weapons uncovered at the three sites included several Kalashnikov rifles and a shotgun. A plastic bag stuffed with Saddam-era camouflage uniforms was also found at the older man's house.
One of the other detained suspects, who said he was a former policeman at an electrical company, initially tried to hide his name.
After rigorous questioning, he later said he lied about it because he was afraid. Another said he was formerly a police guard at a radio station while the forth detained man was allegedly a former police officer.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was