BAGHDAD, Aug 2: A US soldier was killed and three wounded overnight in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on their convoy north of Baghdad, the US military said on Saturday.

The attack on the 4th Infantry Division convoy brings to 53 the number of US soldiers killed in hostile action in Iraq since US President Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

The United States says die-hard Saddam Hussein loyalists and some foreign fighters are behind the guerilla campaign.

Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division also swooped on a house in Tikrit and seized a man suspected of organising attacks, in the latest of a series of raids that US officers say are closing in on Saddam himself.

Backed by helicopters, the US troops met no obvious resistance as they took the middle-aged, unidentified man into custody, blindfolded and handcuffed.

Saddam’s sons Uday and Qusay were killed last week in a battle at their hideout in Mosul and were buried in Tikrit on Saturday.

The fugitive dictator’s two eldest daughters surfaced in Jordan on Thursday after being granted asylum, but US forces have yet to track down Saddam himself despite a $25m price on his head.

US officers say it is possible Saddam is hiding in the Tikrit area.

A series of taped messages said to have been recorded by Saddam have been broadcast on Arab television networks, exhorting Iraqis to fight a holy war to expel occupying troops.

CIA officials say the most recent tapes, broadcast on Tuesday and Friday, are probably genuine.—Reuters