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News :: Iraq |
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Saddam Taken Alive |
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by underground media net (atl)
Email: undergroundmedianet (nospam) juno.com (unverified!)
Phone: 7703562816 |
14 Dec 2003
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saddam hussien captured early sunday |
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Saddam Hussein Arrested - Kurdish Official
Sun December 14, 2003 05:33 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been arrested, an Iraqi Kurdish representative in Iran said on Sunday, but the Defense Department said it could not confirm the report.
"I confirm that Saddam has been arrested," Nazem Dabag, representative in Iran of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Reuters.
The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted PUK leader Jalal Talabani as saying that Saddam had been captured in his home town of Tikrit.
"The American forces in Tikrit announced that Saddam was arrested on Sunday. The Americans said that they will announce the news officially in the next few hours," IRNA quoted Talabani as saying.
The news agency report was from Qasr-e Shirin in Iran across the border from Iraq. A Talabani aide said the Kurdish leader was in Tehran on his way to France.
The Defense Department said it could not confirm the report. Washington has made Saddam number one on its list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, and placed a $25 million reward on his head.
U.S. officials had said Saddam, 66, had eluded American troops by moving every few hours, probably in disguise and aided by members of his clan.
The capture of Saddam would be a major morale boost for U.S. troops in Iraq, who have been under daily attack from shadowy guerrillas, some of whom they believe may have been directed by the former president from hiding.
A U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam in April. His arrest would be a boost for President Bush, whose campaign for re-election next year has been imperiled by setbacks and casualties in Iraq.
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We Got Him |
by underground media net atl
undergroundmedianet (nospam) juno.com (verified) |
Current rating: 0
14 Dec 2003
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BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein (search), the former Iraqi dictator and most-wanted figure by the U.S.-led coalition, as he tried to hide in a basement in Tikrit, officials announced at a Sunday news conference.
"Ladies and gentlement, we got him," L. Paul Bremer (search), the U.S. administrator in Iraq, announced.
On the basis of a tip from a local resident, the U.S. military conducted the raid in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, sources said. Soldiers found a man who looked very thin, with a long grey beard, hiding in a basement, sources said.
Saddam did not put up any resistance, officials told Fox News.
Earlier, a member of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council (search) said Saddam had been captured alive in Tikrit.
Council member Dara Noor al-Din told The Associated Press that the council was informed of the former dictator's capture in a telephone call from L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator for Iraq.
"Bremer has confirmed to the Governing Council that Saddam was captured in Tikrit," Noor al-Din said. "He spoke on the phone to several members, including Ahmad Chalabi."
Chalabi is a leading member of the council who has close links to the Bush administration.
A council spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Bremer had relayed news of Saddam's capture to the council. A council delegation planned to visit Saddam in captivity later Sunday, the spokesman said.
Another Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, was earlier quoted by Iran's official news agency, IRNA, as saying Saddam had been captured in Tikrit.
Talabani told IRNA that Saddam's detention will bring stability to Iraq.
"With the arrest of Saddam, the source financing terrorists has been destroyed and terrorist attacks will come to an end. Now we can establish a durable stability and security in Iraq," Talabani was quoted as saying.
In Baghdad, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration, and gunfire echoed in neighborhoods across the city. 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."
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