Task force joins hunt for Saddam

No deadly attacks on U.S. soldiers have been reportedsince Friday.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
TIKRIT, Iraq -- U.S. forces have conducted a series of ultra-secret operations in the hunt for Saddam Hussein since his sons Odai and Qusai were killed two weeks ago, the military said today.
The top secret Special Operations Task Force 20 -- which is roaming Iraq, hunting Saddam and other high-profile targets -- captured four key targets last week, Maj. Josslyn Aberle, 4th Infantry Division spokeswoman, said at a news briefing.
"It's just a matter of time. He can't stay in one place very long," Aberle said. Military officials had not previously acknowledged Task Force 20's involvement in the raids.
The army would not release the four men's names or their connection to Saddam. Two of Saddam's "very close associates" were captured Friday in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, Aberle said.
Two others, described only as high-profile targets, were caught Saturday during a raid in Baiji, just north of Tikrit, she said, adding that the military was not prepared to release their names but had plans to do so eventually. Tikrit is 120 miles north of Baghdad.
Close to Saddam
Soldiers believe they came within 24 hours of capturing Saddam's new personal security chief -- and possibly the former Iraqi leader himself -- during a raid in Tikrit on July 27.
Intelligence on Saddam's whereabouts is constantly evolving, and the army is poised to strike, she said.
"It was the same with Odai and Qusai. They had not been up in Mosul -- or in that house where they were captured -- very long before the intelligence came in and we got them," she said. The two were killed in a prolonged gunbattle in Mosul, in northern Iraq.
Military officials estimate that Saddam moves every four hours. The army has distributed composite photos of how he may have changed his appearance, hoping that they may catch him on the move.
During the night, 300 soldiers backed by Bradley fighting vehicles and Apache attack helicopters raided four sites on the outskirts of Tikrit in an operation witnessed by The Associated Press.
The operation was launched after the army got word that former regime members were gathering at one of the sites, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment's 1st battalion.
Soldiers did not find the meeting they were looking for and instead hunted for two guerrilla organizers believed to be in the area, he said. Soldiers detained an associate of one of the organizers, Russell said.
"It's like you're drilling for oil, and you're upset because you don't hit a gusher every time. The reality is we've been able to hurt the regime and he [Saddam] is a desperate and losing foe," Russell said.
No attacks
At midday today, the U.S. military said there had been no fatal attacks on American soldiers in Iraq since late Friday -- a respite from the increased violence against Americans in Iraq since Udai and Qusai were gunned down July 22.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1, 52 U.S. soldiers have been killed in guerrilla attacks.
The Tampa, Fla.-based U.S. Central Command said Sunday that raids by the 3rd Armored Cavalry in the so-called "Sunni Triangle" west and north of the capital netted "24 regime loyalists, including a targeted leader." It did not name the captives.
The U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, has blamed attacks against Americans on four groups -- loyalists of Saddam's Baath Party, the Fedayeen Saddam militia, members of the ousted and once-feared security forces and foreign terrorists.
U.S. officials have increasingly laid blame for the violence on foreign fighters, suggesting guerrilla tactics now being used are similar to those of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida organization and its Taliban allies in Afghanistan.
Compensation
Meanwhile, military officials said Sunday that the families of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed or injured by U.S. forces will not get compensation unless they prove clear-cut negligence or wrongdoing by soldiers.
The policy rules out payments for tragic mistakes, such as the fatal shootings of civilians at military checkpoints, if soldiers believed it was reasonable to fire. And incidents after May 1 could still be regarded as combat-related and therefore ineligible for compensation, the officials said.
However, cases involving soldiers who accidentally fire their weapons or traffic accidents involving supply convoys could warrant payments to the victims if negligence is proved. U.S. military officials said they had settled 1,168 compensation claims totaling $262,263. Most of the claims were for property damage, and no payment was over $15,000. But the officials at the briefing, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could provide no information about compensation for deaths.
"How much is an injury worth? How much is a life worth? It all depends on the value of a life in Iraq. The value of a life in Iraq is probably a lot less than it would be in the U.S. or Britain," one official said.
Sunday's briefing highlighted inconsistencies in the handling of compensation payments: In the city of Fallujah, where U.S. soldiers killed 18 people and wounded 78 in April, the American military commander in the area has been paying $1,500 for each fatality and $500 for each injury, the Associated Press reported.
The commander was apparently using discretionary funds supplied for his operations. One official at Sunday's briefing said he would investigate and, if necessary, tell the commander to stop making such payments.
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