Iraq's ousted leader Saddam Hussein is believed in Iraq and has had to move from place to place, a US military commander said on Wednesday.

"As far as I know, yes," Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander ofthe US 4th Infantry Division, said when asked if the former strongman is hiding in Iraq.

He told reporters in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit that he  believed Saddam is "moving a lot" and not staying in one place.

However, he conceded that his troops made no progress in searching for Saddam. 

 The general said the former dictator could be busy with running and keeping himself comfortable and probably could not afford any time to coordinate attacks against coalition forces.

"But we'll keep him running so he can't be comfortable," Odiernosaid.

On Tuesday, US Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid implicated that the forces do not know the whereabout of Saddam.

"With regards to where Saddam Hussein is, if we know where he was we will have him," he said at a Baghdad press conference.

 "The key point is we are looking for him," he said. "It's important to get him and we intent to get him."

Early Wednesday, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division said that the troops had captured wife and daughter of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, No. 2 in Saddam Hussein's regime, who was accused of coordinating a series of anti-coalition attacks in war-torn Iraq.

Saddam and al-Douri are the highest ranking figures at large though tens of millions of dollars were offered on their heads.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2003)