American forces captured a bearded Saddam Hussein, hiding in a hole in a farmhouse cellar near his hometown of Tikrit, the US military announced yesterday. The arrest was carried out without a shot fired and was a victory for the US-led coalition eight months after the fall of Baghdad.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," US administrator Paul Bremer said at a news conference, adding: "The tyrant is a prisoner."
PHOTO: AP
Bremer said Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30pm in the town of Dour, 15km south of Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history.
The top US military commander in Iraq, who saw Saddam overnight, said the deposed leader "has been cooperative and is talkative." He described Saddam as "a tired man, a man resigned to his fate."
In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration and passengers on buses and trucks shouted, "They got Saddam! They got Saddam!"
At the news conference announcing his capture, US forces aired a video showing a bearded Saddam being examined by a doctor who held his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Then they showed a photograph of Saddam after he was shaved.
Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted "Death to Saddam!" and "Down with Saddam!"
The former Iraqi leader was being held at an undisclosed location, said the top US soldier in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. He added that US authorities had yet to determine whether to hand him over to a new Iraqi tribunal for trial.
"This success brings closure to the Iraqi people," Sanchez said.
"Saddam Hussein will never return to a position of power from which he can punish, terrorize, intimidate and exploit the Iraqi people as the did for more than 35 years."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the capture.
"This is very good news for the people of Iraq. It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime," he said in a statement.
Forces from the 4th Infantry Division along with Special Forces captured Saddam, the US military said. There were no shots fired or injuries in the raid, called "Operation Red Dawn," Sanchez said.
Living in a hole
Trapped in the cellar, Saddam was in a 2m-deep "spider hole" that had been camouflaged with bricks and dirt. The soldiers saw the hole, investigated and found him inside, Sanchez said.
The video showed an air vent and fan inside the hole to allow Saddam to remain hidden for an extended period.
Two men "affiliated with Saddam Hussein" were detained with him, and soldiers confiscated two Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, a taxi and US$750,000 in US$100 bills, Sanchez said.
Celebratory gunfire erupted in the capital, and shop owners closed their doors, fearful that the shooting would make the streets unsafe.
"I'm very happy for the Iraqi people. Life is going to be safer now," said 35-year-old Yehya Hassan, a resident of Baghdad. "Now we can start a new beginning."
Earlier in the day, rumors of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.
"We are celebrating like it's a wedding," said Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff. "We are finally rid of that criminal."
"This is the joy of a lifetime," said Ali Al-Bashiri, another resident. "I am speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule."
In Tikrit, US soldiers lit up cigars after hearing the news of Saddam's capture.
"The intimidation and fear this man generated for over 30 years are now gone," said Major General Raymond Odierno, who commands the division that carried out the raid.
Despite the celebration throughout Baghdad, many residents were skeptical.
"I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it," said Mohaned al-Hasaji, 33. "They need to show us that they really have him."
Ayet Bassem, 24, walked out of a shop with her 6-year-old son.
"Things will be better for my son," she said. "Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future."
From hiding, US commanders have said Saddam played some role in the anti-US resistance that has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians in Iraq. In the latest attack, a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car outside a police station yesterday morning west of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 more, the US military said.
After invading Iraq on March 20 and setting up their headquarters in Saddam's sprawling Republican Palace compound in Baghdad, US troops launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive leader, placing a US$25 million bounty on his head and sending thousands of soldiers to search for him.
Saddam was one of the most-wanted fugitives in the world, along with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network who hasn't been caught despite a manhunt since November 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan.
Saddam's sons Qusay and Uday -- each with a US$15 million bounty on their heads -- were killed July 22 in a four-hour gunbattle with US troops in a hideout in the northern city of Mosul. The bounties were paid out to the man who owned the house where they were killed, residents said.
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