U.S. military forces report that another official of Saddam Hussein's
Cabinet has surrendered to coalition forces. Meanwhile, there have
been reports of gun battles in various parts of Iraq.
The Central Command reports that number 29 on its most wanted
list, former Iraqi Interior Minister Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmed, surrendered
to coalition forces Friday. Coalition troops have pledged to continue
to capture former members of the regime, with the top goal being
deposed dictator Saddam Hussei.
Both U.S. and British troops were involved in skirmishes in Iraq
Saturday. At least two U.S. soldiers were wounded when a rocket-propelled
grenade was fired on their patrol in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk,
in the north of the country.
In the southern port city of Basra, British troops clashed with
hundreds of angry Shiite Muslim protesters demanding increased
supplies of electricity and fuel. Tempers flared as the demonstrators
threw stones at the soldiers, vandalized cars and burned tires.
The Coalition Provisional Authority's head, Paul Bremer, conceded
in a news conference in Baghdad that there would continue to be
power problems. But he said there has been rapid improvement in
electricity production, from generating 300 megawatts in April
up to 3,500 megawatts at present.
"There will be a long-term problem on power, as I have said here
before, because Saddam Hussein squandered the oil resources of
this country through spectacular economic mismanagement for almost
four decades, and did not build enough power plants," he said. "We
are going to have to find a way to spend some $2 billion over the
next year to build enough power plants to meet current demand for
power."
In the central Iraqi town of Fallujah, 50 kilometers west of
Baghdad, U.S. forces backed by helicopters and armed vehicles raided
a house and arrested a former local commander of the Baath party
militia.
U.S. troops also say they confiscated weapons, explosive devices
and ammunition in raids across Iraq over the last 24 hours. Acting
on tips from Iraqi informants, U.S. soldiers seized surface-to-air
missiles and other weapons that officials said could have been
used in attacks on coalition forces.
