But a raid in Baghdad's upscale Mansour district turned tragic, according to witnesses and an Iraqi police officer who said he'd been briefed by U.S. military officials. There, witnesses described U.S. commandos dressed in black cordoning off the area around a house and then opening fire on several vehicles.
The Iraqi police officer told CNN that the civilians, apparently unaware the military had closed the area, began driving. Three civilians were killed, he said, and four others wounded.
He said U.S. military officials told him the operation targeted Saddam.
Coalition military spokesman Capt. Jeff Fitzgibbons told CNN that the operation was conducted by Task Force 20, which is made up of special operations forces from the various branches of the armed services. But he would neither confirm nor deny the operation's target or the reports of civilian casualties.
(thanks to alert reader Jackson L. Haveck)