US signals Saddam still alive, vows to track him down

A top US official signalled that Washington believes Saddam Hussein may be alive as US forces launched an operation to crack down on armed r...

A top US official signalled that Washington believes Saddam Hussein may be alive as US forces launched an operation to crack down on armed resistance blamed on die-hard supporters of the toppled Iraqi leader.

‘‘I’m assuming he’s still alive, and we will get our hands on him, dead or alive,’’ Paul Bremer, who heads the US-led administration in Iraq, told CNN on Sunday.

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Asked why it was so hard to find Saddam, Bremer said: ‘‘(Iraq is) a big place… He had 30 years to build himself safe houses, palaces, tunnels, we don’t know what.’’

American troops backed by warplanes and armoured vehicles launched Operation Sidewinder on Sunday to eliminate armed resistance in areas north of Baghdad where Saddam once enjoyed wide support.

Bremer said US-led forces would suffer further casualties until Saddam loyalists were killed or captured. But US Army commander Tommy Franks, who led the swift defeat of Iraq’s Army, said recent attacks on US troops did not ‘‘spoil the victory’’.

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On Monday, US forces detained 180 people to stamp out resistance and a reporter attached to an army unit was injured when a grenade exploded in Falluja. The unidentified journalist is now in stable condition, a statement said.

‘‘No coalition forces casualties were reported in the raids. Sidewinder is…ongoing,’’ US Central Command said in a statement on the mission stretching from the Iranian border to the East to towns North of Baghdad.

Soldiers imposed tighter measures around military posts, US-led administration offices and ministry buildings in Baghdad, witnesses said. They stepped up search operations for weapons and Saddam loyalists.

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