Saddam's cousins arrested in swoop

FOUR cousins of missing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein have been arrested by Coalition forces, it was revealed last night.

When they were picked up - following a tip-off - the men were said to have pictures showing them torturing a young Iraqi.

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who is now training a new Baghdad police force, said several members of Saddam's personal security force had also been found - plus 13 rocket- propelled grenades, seven AK-47s, two 9mm handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

The arrests came after pounds 16,000 was offered for information about former Saddam supporters.

SAS troops have also mounted a major operation to hunt down the Islamic mercenaries spear heading the attacks on British and American forces in Iraq.

More than 400 fighters recruited in Egypt, Saudi, Yemen, Syria and Morocco are said to have crossed in to the country since the end of the war to wage a Jihad against the Western forces. Intelligence sources say Saddam's stolen fortune is funding the mercenary forces with recruits being paid more than pounds 600 a month (a fortune in Iraq).

There is also a pounds 15,000 bounty on the head of every Coalition soldier they kill.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw yesterday defended the Government's decision to include in its first Iraqi dossier claims that Saddam Hussein tried to get uranium from Africa.

He admitted that CIA chief George Tenet had expressed reservations about the claim - but insisted it was based on what British officials regarded as reliable intelligence which had not been shared with the US.

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