BAGHDAD, July 27 (Xinhuanet) -- US forces raided a villa in central Baghdad on Sunday afternoon, killing at least five Iraqi civilians, and refused to make comments on the operations.
According to witnesses, US forces blocked the streets around a house in central Baghdad, shot up three cars and killed a number of people.
One hospital reported later that at least five Iraqis were killed and eight wounded in the attack, and those killed had no clear connection to Saddam.
Also on Sunday, US forces searched for Saddam Hussein in his home town of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, and reported a near-miss in a raid to capture his new chief of security.
The US military said that troops of the 4th Infantry Division, acting on tips from informants, hit three farms in the Tikrit region in a pre-dawn attack, but their specific target, Saddam's new security chief, had left the area the day before.
"We missed him by 24 hours," said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the operation.
Later in the day, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an unannounced visit to Tikrit to meet with commanders of the 4th Infantry.
Myers arrived in Baghdad after visiting Tikrit and told reporters in the capital that Saddam "is so busy surviving and he is having no impact on the security situation here."
"It's a big country, but we'll find him," he said. Enditem
U.S. troops put up posters on offering an enormous reward to those providing any information on the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein.
