Suddam captured in raid

[S1ngh]

Saddam captured in raid, U.S. officials believe

Tony Blair has confirmed that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been captured alive in his home town of Tikrit.

Mr Blair, who has returned to Downing Street from Chequers, said in a statement that Saddam was seized last night.

The British Prime Minister said the arrest 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," Mr Blair said.

Saddam was "dug out of a cellar" from a house in a poverty-stricken area during a raid by US forces, backed by Kurdish troops. He was asleep at the time.

DNA tests have been carried out and the 66-year-old's identity confirmed. Three members of the Iraqi Governing Council have been invited to go to Tikrit at 1pm GMT to visually identify him.

Saddam, who had been on the run since the US took Baghdad on April 9, was apparently found at around 4am with a suitcase containing half a million dollars worth of cash.

The president of the Iraqi Governing Council said Saddam was wearing a false beard in disguise at the time.

Ahmad Chalabi, a leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), has said Saddam, who was captured without resistance, will probably be put on trial.

A spokesman for the INC said: "We are 100% sure Saddam has been detained by American forces."

A top Iraqi official said US administrator Paul Bremer called Iraqi leaders by telephone to tell them the news.

The US Defence Department is still refusing to confirm the reports but a press conference has been announced for 12pm GMT.

In Baghda

d, a spokeswoman for the US-led operation notified reporters that a "very important" announcement will be made at the press conference. It is not known who the speaker will be.

The news is spreading around Iraq rapidly and hundreds of exultant people have taken to the streets of Kirkuk and Baghdad firing weapons into the air in celebration.

Saddam was at the top of the US most wanted list, appearing as the "ace of spades" in the pack of cards depicting former Iraqi leaders.

Washington put a $25m reward on his head.

Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed in a raid in July.

[Jkaur]

yeah i just watched BBC and CNN too and its confirmed that Saddam is caught.. he looks so old and tired...

Paul Bremer made the press conference and the first thing he said was "we got him"... they have shown footage of him getting physical checkup.. he was apparently hiding underground in a farmhouse 15KM away from Tikrit..

[Jkaur]

TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces have captured Saddam Hussein in a late night raid near his hometown of Tikrit, according to the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

"Ladies and gentleman, we got him," L. Paul Bremer announced Sunday. The announcement was greeted with cheers from the audience.

Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez showed video of Saddam, who had graying hair and a long beard, undergoing a medical examination after his capture.

Several Iraqi journalists stood up and shouted "Death to Saddam" after the video was shown.

Sanchez said the former leader was not injured and has been "talkative and cooperative," after 4th Infantry Division and special operations forces nabbed him at a "rural farmhouse."

"Today is a great day for the Iraqi people and the coalition," Sanchez said.

Not a single shot was fired in "Operation Red Dawn," carried out based on intelligence gathered over several months, Sanchez said.

"This is very good news for the people of Iraq," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement Sunday. "It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime. This fear is now removed."

A senior U.S. official told CNN's Dana Bash in Washington that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told President Bush Saturday afternoon (EST) of the likely capture.

In Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis flooded the streets, firing guns into the air, singing, dancing and throwing candy into the air -- celebrating the apparent capture of the man who had ruled their lives with terror and repression for more than three decades.

The raid was based on intelligen

ce that Saddam was at a particular location in the area, the officials said.

Video following that raid -- exclusively shot by CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh -- showed a group of U.S.-led coalition soldiers patting each other on the back -- apparently in celebration -- and taking group photos in front of a military vehicle.

The 66-year-old longtime Iraqi leader was number one on the coalition's 55 most wanted list, and his evasion has been a political sore spot for the U.S. administration.

The Iraq war began on March 19 when U.S. forces launched a "decapitation attack" aimed at the Iraqi president and other top members of the country's leadership.

Hours later, a defiant Saddam wearing a military uniform appeared on Iraqi television to denounce the U.S.-led military campaign as "criminal" and to say his countrymen would be victorious.

U.S. troops celebrate in Tikrit, after a raid that captured a man believed to be Saddam Hussein. At least a dozen audiotapes believed to have been recorded by Saddam, 66, have been released since he was forced out of power by the coalition forces during the Iraq war. The most recent was broadcast in November.

His sons Uday and Qusay -- also on the coalition's most wanted list -- were killed in July, after U.S. forces stormed their hideout in Mosul.

Sixteen policemen were among those killed in Sunday's explosion at Khaldiyah, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Iraqi capital, the officer added

[V]

He's a bit wierd tho

He should've commited Suicide..

right when they came

cause Now He's facing a suffering death

:St:

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

[Ryu Hayabusa]

He's a bit wierd tho

He should've commited Suicide..

right when they came

cause Now He's facing a suffering death

:St:

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

Why should he have comitted suicide? Suicide is not an easy thing to do.

[Guest SikhForLife]

i think hes fake.. planted by GWB to enhance his image after series of failures...

[V]

True.

BUt do u think He's gonna get a pleasant and nice death?

he's prolly gonna get TORTURED TO DEATH, If not Life time i Jail

Hitler, got away from da cr*p he would get

but then again.thats clearly cowardly :T:

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

[Guest Jas Singh]

Hitler, got away from da cr*p he would get 

but then again.thats clearly cowardly 

cant run away from god at the end though

[V]

Hitler, got away from da cr*p he would get

but then again.thats clearly cowardly

cant run away from god at the end though

True....thats Very True :WW:

But why die, being tortured, and not straight away :T:

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

[GABROO KHALISTAN DAH]

Nahhh he aint gonna be tortured, he is a political figure they have to treat him with rights and respect, plus being such a big figure head lots of attention is goin to beplaced on him so they will protect him.