Saddam Hussein captured in Iraq


Dec. 14, 2003, midnight | By Katherine Zhang | 20 years, 4 months ago

U.S. troops detain former Iraqi leader in a raid near Tikrit


This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the Washington Post article Saddam Hussein captured by U.S. troops by Bradley Graham and Barton .

U.S. troops captured former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit, according to an article by the Washington Post.

Hussein was captured in a farmhouse cellar in Ad Dawr, nine miles south of Tikrit, said L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, at a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday. "The tyrant is now a prisoner," Bremer announced.

The raid took place around 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, said Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, a U.S. general in Iraq. No shots were fired during the raid, and no one was hurt, according to the Washington Post. 600 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division and Special Operations Units took part in the raid.

Sanchez, in the Washington Post article, said that troops carried out the raid after receiving a tip that said Hussein would be found in one of two places, said . Troops found him at neither location but began investigating other places in the area. Soldiers found Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-feet deep "spider hole", said Sanchez.

Two AK-47 automatic weapons, a pistol and $750,000 in cash were also found in the hole. Two Iraqis were also arrested during the raid. U.S. authorities are trying to uncover their identities, reported the Washington Post.

Currently, Hussein is being held at an undisclosed location, said Sanchez.

Celebratory gunshots were heard in Baghdad as news of Hussein's capture was revealed over the radio. However, U.S. military officials said that the capture of Hussein is not expected to alleviate the riots that have been occurring in Iraq during the last few months, according to the Washington Post.

A release from the White House's Press Secretary's Office said that President George W. Bush is scheduled to address the public at noon Sunday.



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Katherine Zhang. Katherine Zhang likes French baguettes, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, bookmarks, fresh boxes of rosin, Brad Meltzer novels, and of course, "JAG." In her free time, Katherine enjoys knitting, playing the violin, and reading - especially legal thrillers and books about people in faraway places and long-ago times. … More »

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