US forces hunting Saddam Hussein in Iraq have captured three key figures loyal to the deposed dictator, including a top bodyguard, and are closing in on Saddam himself, the US military said today.
"Members of the 4th Infantry Division detained four individuals in Tikrit. Three of those individuals are believed to be former regime loyalists," a US spokesman said.
"They are being questioned as we speak."
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said US forces nearly captured Saddam in raids yesterday.
"I think most people feel that the noose is tightening pretty regularly around the neck of Saddam Hussein, even today there were three raids and we believe we were just hours behind Saddam Hussein," he said on CNN.
Washington says that after Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed last week -- and the man who betrayed them claimed a $30 million reward - many more Iraqis are coming forward with information on the fugitive former president.
"We're close to catching Saddam. A lot of people are stepping forward with information. He's running out of places to hide," army spokeswoman Sergeant Amy Abbot said.
The United States is offering $25 million for information leading to the arrest or proof of death of Saddam.
The military said a former bodyguard of Saddam was among those detained today, the latest of several raids around Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.
Television pictures filmed through a night vision lens showed a man being escorted from a building by American soldiers, blood seeping through a blindfold.
On Sunday, soldiers from Task Force 20, the secretive special team set up to hunt Saddam, staged a bloody raid on a villa in an upscale neighbourhood of Baghdad. They found no trace of Saddam or his top lieutenants, but five Iraqis were killed when troops opened fire on cars driving near the house.
Furious locals accused soldiers of firing indiscriminately on innocent civilians. Army spokesmen declined comment, saying they were not authorised to discuss Task Force 20 operations.