Elite Iraqi unit puts down revolt

CAIRO -- Elite Iraqi troops attempted to stage a revolt against President Saddam Hussein, diplomats and Arab newspaper reports said on Friday.

The reports, which included an article in the Al Hayat daily, said members of an elite Iraqi force mutinied when Saddam's son, Kusay, tried to arrest officers of the unit suspected of planning a coup. The mutineers held pitched battles with tanks and artillery with troops loyal to Saddam.

In the end, the reports said, the unit was defeated and Saddam's agents arrested most of the officer corps.

Diplomats said Iraq's army has been torn by dissent over the last few months as Saddam has cut back salaries to all but his most loyal units. They said Iraqi opposition members have become active in supporting insurgencies in several parts of the country, particularly the south.

But Saddam's troops are still believed to have superiority over opposition forces, the diplomats said.