US offers $42 million reward for Saddam capture

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE in Washington

The US has announced a US$25m ($42 million) reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein or else positive conformation of his death in an effort to try and reduce the number of attacks on American and British troops.

A reward of US$15m ($25 million) was announced for similar information about either of the former dictator's two sons, Uday and Qusay.

The rewards, announced in Baghdad by Paul Bremer, head of the US-led civil administration, are designed to increase pressure on Saddam who is believed by most to be still alive and living inside Iraq more than two months after he was ousted from power.

US authorities have regularly said that the ongoing doubts over Saddam's whereabouts and status are being used as a focus by anti-US resistance forces responsible for carrying on what is effectively a guerilla war against the occupying troops.

"To ensure that Iraq and Iraqis remain free - now and after the coalition leaves - we need to ensure that the Ba'athist regime is truly finished," said Mr Bremer in a message addressed to the Iraqi people.

"And I have certainly not forgotten Saddam Hussein and his sons - among the most evil men the world has known. They may or may not be still alive. But I recognise that, until we know for sure, their names will continue to cast a shadow of fear over this country."

Mr Bremer appealed to the Iraqi people to come forward if they had any information about Saddam, who was last positively sighted in a suburb of north-east Baghdad several days after US troops rolled into the Iraqi capital. He said that determining the former leader's fate would "help us in our reconstruction efforts".

Since President Bush announced an effective end to hostilities on May 1 at least 30 US troops and British troops have been killed in hostile fire incidents. US officials have blamed such attacks on elements of Saddam's intelligence services and the Iraqi army who remain loyal to the ousted leader.

US intelligence believes that Saddam is still inside Iraq, probably moving in an arc from Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, around the Tigris river toward his home town of Tikrit and into the Dulaimi areas to the west of the Tigris.

There have been unconfirmed reports that he is offering $200 for each US soldier killed. There have also been a number of unconfirmed sightings.

The danger faced by the occupying forces was again underscored yesterday by three separate incidents in Iraq - an explosion and two ambushes - in which nine US soldiers were wounded.

In one incident in the city of Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, a two-vehicle convoy hit an explosive which detonated injuring six US soldiers. In another incident in Baghdad, an attacker fired a grenade at a US Army convoy wounding two soldiers. Troops returned fire, killing an Iraqi bystander and injuring others, witnesses said.

In a third incident, a gunman fired at a US patrol in the west Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadamiyah, wounding one of the soldiers. Troops fired back, killing the attacker and wounding a six-year-old boy who was with him. A US military spokesman said both the soldier and the boy were in a stable condition in a military hospital.

There has been speculation as to why a reward for Saddam - which matches that offered for the capture of al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden - was not offered earlier.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters that he had only formally agreed to the reward yesterday. He said: "We believe it is important to do everything we can to determine his whereabouts, whether he is alive or dead, in order to assist in stabilising the situation and letting the people of Baghdad be absolutely sure that he's not coming back."

There have been a growing number of questions as to whether the US has sufficient troops in Iraq to handle the task of bringing abut law and order as Mr Bremer and his team continue their task to try and develop an Iraqi-led civil government.

The US currently has around 146,000 troops in Iraq, supported by about 12,000 British and other allied soldiers Following pressure from the Bush administration, up to 30 other countries have either committed or promised forces to help stabilise the country.

At the same time the Pentagon is reportedly considering requests from Mr Bremer to increase the number of US troops deployed to Iraq.

Earlier this week, the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said since the ousting of Saddam, forces loyal to him had formed a "terrorist network" in Iraq. He denied suggestions that US and British forces were facing a guerrilla war or were stuck in a quagmire.

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Herald Feature: Iraq