Ranking Insurgent Captured in Iraq Raid

Coalition officials say operation nets 74 Iraqis in Samarra

TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) December 16, 2004 - U.S. troops captured what the military calls a "high-value target" and 73 other Iraqis during a massive raid early Tuesday in the north-central Iraqi town of Samarra, coalition officials said.

Officials said the high-value target was captured at his home, where he was apparently having a meeting. All 74 Iraqis were captured at the house in Samarra, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Tikrit, officials said. The suspects were young men of military age, and no women were present, officials said.

Coalition officials described the top man as a midlevel official, a member of the paramilitary group Fedayeen Saddam and a financier of attacks on coalition troops. Officials said they believe he can lead them to some insurgents involved in the attacks.

Coalition officials also said they found 135 pounds of explosives, several mortar rounds, 15 AK-47s, 200 blasting caps and other ammunition and paraphernalia similar to those used in attacks against coalition troops.

U.S. troops have fought off ambushes in Samarra twice this month -- on December 1, when the military said troops killed 54 Iraqis, and Monday, when they killed 11 attackers.

Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad, said that Saddam Hussein's arrest Saturday could help U.S. forces search for Iraqi insurgents.

Dempsey said that while Saddam apparently was not directing the attacks on coalition forces, some insurgents did report to him "on the chance that some day he might be able to once again be their patron."

Documents found with Saddam already have provided useful information, officials in Washington said. Dempsey said that within 24 hours of the capture, troops had arrested "some high-level former Baath leaders" connected with financing the insurgency, based on names found in the documents.

However, a senior official in Washington said the arrests were "not high-level people but cell members further down," adding that some information has been "actionable" intelligence that may save the lives of U.S. soldiers.

U.S. forces are continuing to search for a number of high-ranking members of Saddam's former regime, including Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, No. 6 on the list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis and the highest-ranking member still at large.

Show of force in Tikrit

Meanwhile, U.S. troops rolled out a show of force in Saddam's ancestral homeland of Tikrit, countering demonstrations that erupted there and in other cities after the former leader's arrest.

The 4th Infantry Division deployed helicopters, Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and hundreds of soldiers to quash further protests.

Saddam supporters held demonstrations Monday inside the so-called "Sunni Triangle" -- the area north and west of Baghdad considered a hotbed of regime loyalists and anti-coalition activity. Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah are in the Sunni Triangle.

Baker cites progress on debt

As President Bush's envoy on Iraq, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker met with the leaders of Germany and France on Tuesday to discuss relieving the $120 billion owed by the country, possibly by forgiving some of that debt.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told reporters, "Germany is ready to make a substantial contribution to help rebuilding a democratic and stable Iraq. That will be the subject of our talks today, and I think that we will have an agreement within a foreseeable time."

Following the meeting in Berlin, a German spokesman hinted that a plan may be in the works to forgive some of Iraq's debts.

"Germany and the U.S. -- just like France -- are not only ready for a restructuring but also to a substantial debt relief regarding Iraq," the spokesman said.

Baker said earlier that France had agreed with the United States that Iraq's debt needs to be restructured. He called the talks in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac "fruitful."

Other developments

• U.S. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that American troops will remain in Iraq for a couple of years and possibly longer. Myers said the number of U.S. forces would likely be down a little bit on the next rotation. About 120,000 troops are in Iraq at this time. Meyers was in Baghdad for a previously scheduled morale-building visit, accompanied by celebrities such as Robin Williams.

• Saddam Hussein's oldest daughter told Al-Arabiya television network Tuesday the family of the former dictator will hire the best attorneys it can find to fight for her father. In a phone interview, Saddam's daughter Raghad Hussein, 35, told the Arabic-language channel that the family believes Saddam was drugged after he surrendered to American troops.

• The United Nations will aid Iraq's transition from occupation to sovereignty but needs greater clarity about what role it can play, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday. The capture of the ousted Iraqi dictator is "an opportunity for a new beginning" in Iraq, Annan said in an address to the U.N. Security Council. But the country remains a difficult environment for U.N. international staff, he said.

• Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division who participated in the raid said they were preparing to toss a grenade or fire into a hole they had uncovered -- standard procedure for their safety -- when they saw a pair of upraised hands. The man then identified himself as Saddam, they said.