A U.S. Army soldier seizes an assault riffle inside an Iraqi house following a series of night raids, in Tikrit, Iraq, early today. AP Photo

TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. forces in Tikrit detained 30 Iraqis, including a dozen suspected insurgents, in one of the biggest raids since the end of the American-led war to oust Saddam Hussein.

The operation came hours after a Black Hawk medevac helicopter crashed Thursday near Fallujah, killing all nine soldiers aboard, and a C-5 transport plane limped safely back to the Baghdad airport after being struck by insurgent fire.

Two blasts also shook central Baghdad shortly after dawn today, and security guards said several rockets struck a hotel used by Western contract workers. Windows were shattered and there was other minor damage, but no casualties.

More than 300 soldiers swept through Saddam's hometown of Tikrit just before midnight Thursday in a search for 18 men and teenagers suspected in anti-U.S. attacks, including the Oct. 1 killing of a female American soldier.

In the four-hour operation, the troops took 30 Iraqis into custody, among them 12 of the 18 wanted people. The other detainees were believed to have links to those suspected in the attacks, officials said.

Among those detained was one of two men suspected of planting a roadside bomb that killed Pfc. Analaura Esparza Gutierrez, 21, of Houston, on Oct. 1. Authorities also believe the same man was involved in the September slaying of an Iraqi businessman who provided intelligence on anti-U.S. insurgents, according to the U.S. military.

Since April, insurgents in Tikrit have killed five American soldiers and wounded 52, making the city one of the toughest places for coalition forces to control following the collapse of Saddam's three-decade dictatorship.

"We see this as a good sweep of the area," said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, a commander with the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division.

Also among those detained are a man suspected of financing attacks against coalition forces, another who allegedly distributes anti-U.S. leaflets and an Iraqi policeman accused of providing details of upcoming raids to insurgents.

The Black Hawk, which clearly was marked with a red cross, went down Thursday about four miles south of Fallujah, a stronghold of the anti-American insurgency, according to the 82nd Airborne Division. Witnesses said it was hit by a rocket, but U.S. officials said the cause was unknown.