IRAQ. Tikrit. July, 2003. US troops conducting a raid in a village that houses alleged anti-US militants. Tikrit, 80km north of Baghdad, is Saddam Hussein's hometown and a stronghold of anti-US resistance. As part of the military Operation "Ivy Serpent" in the larger Tikrit area, US Forces have set up checkpoints and conducted raids on houses thought to be providing refuge to anti-US militants.