|
This photo of a
dishevelled Saddam Hussein was released by the US
Army |
2003: Saddam Hussein captured |
England have
The ousted President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is under arrest after he
was captured by US soldiers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," US administrator Paul Bremer told
journalists in Baghdad. "The tyrant is a prisoner."
Saddam Hussein was found hidden in a tiny bunker at a farmhouse about
10 miles (15 km) south of his home town, Tikrit.
A US military spokesman, Major-General Raymond Odierno, said the
operation was launched soon after a tip-off from a member of Saddam
Hussein's own extended family.
"Over the last 10 days we brought in about five to 10 members of these
families, and finally got the ultimate information from one of these
individuals," he said.
There was a $25m reward offered by the US authorities for information
leading to his capture.
A similar reward was claimed for revealing the whereabouts of Saddam
Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, who were killed in a raid by US forces in
the northern city of Mosul in July.
Saddam Hussein was found in a "spider hole" or cellar just big enough
for a person to lie down in, and six to eight feet (1.8m to 2.5m) deep.
The entrance was topped with a polystyrene lid and covered with a rug,
bricks and dirt. Saddam had been breathing through an air vent and
extractor fan.
The former Iraqi dictator was armed with a pistol, but Major-General
Odierno said he gave himself up without resistance.
He seemed "disoriented" and "bewildered", the Major-General said, and
was arrested at 2030 local time (1730 GMT).
Two unidentified people said to be "close allies" of Saddam Hussein
were also arrested. Weapons and more than $750,000 in cash was
confiscated.
Video footage was released by the US military showing a dishevelled Saddam with a long black
and grey beard undergoing a medical examination.
The former president had not been seen since US forces entered Baghdad
in April.
Despite one of the most intensive manhunts in history, he has evaded
capture for eight months.
As the news spread throughout Iraq, people began celebrating in the
streets of Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk by sounding their
horns and firing into the air.
Saddam's stronghold towns of Tikrit and Fallujah, however, were sombre
and quiet.