Three Americans were killed, attempts to assassinate 4 collaborators including oil minister; Occupation: Saddam is in Tikrit amid his tribe

The Iraqi resistance have during the two past days targeted several Iraqi officials ( collaborating ) with the occupation, especially the minister of oil in the Interim governing council Ibrahim Baher al-Aloum, in a series of failed assassination attempts.

Meantime, the American occupation army announced that the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is hiding in his birthplace in al-Auja and is believed to have a great impact on the Iraqi resistance which has been ongoing since months in daily attacks against the American units.

An American army officer said "we have indicators that he was (Saddam ) was here recently. He might be in Tikrit now, at least he still keeps a strong effect in the region." The officer did not clarify the nature of intelligence information which pushed the occupation to conclude that Saddam Hussein lives in Tikrit area but he expressed confidence in the quality of the news.

The occupation forces announced that one American soldier was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack that targeted an American patrol in Tikrit yesterday. It added that one soldier was killed and another wounded in a mine explosion on Sunday evening in Bji town to the north of Baghdad and that one soldier was killed and other two wounded in an attack to the south of Jaloula to the north of Baghdad. The US CNN TV said that three American soldiers were killed and other 13 wounded during the two past days in Iraq.

Meantime, the British occupation army announced that four of its soldiers were slightly wounded in three attacks by bombs implanted on the road in Basra. An American military spokeswoman said that the American forces detained 34 persons in Balad down suspected to have links to attacks on its soldiers.

An officer in the Iraqi police said that one Iraqi was killed and other three wounded when the occupation forces opened fire indiscriminately when they were exposed to attack by unidentified persons in Baqouba to the north east of Baghdad. This was followed by the detention of 20 Iraqis in the neighboring Zaghinia village.