A Witness Found in Baghdad Who Saw how Saddam Was Actually Caught

The most interesting was the testimony of the former translator Saddam, who said that the previous versions of the capture of the Iraqi leader were completely fabricated by the United States.

Sergey Kron

After the invasion of US troops into Iraq under the pretext of searching for weapons of mass destruction, the presence of which in the country was never confirmed, the United States put the “criminal” President Saddam Hussein on the wanted list. As the BBC reported in those days, about 600 soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division of the US Army, along with special forces of the coalition forces, raided the city of Daur, near Saddam's homeland of Tikkrit. The soldiers examined two places where, according to their information, Hussein could be hiding. These places were codenamed "skunk bear-1" and "skunk bear-2".

During the raid, the commandos noticed a small fenced-in farm, which seemed suspicious to them. During an inspection of the farm, as the BBC said, an entrance to a small underground hole was found camouflaged with bricks and mud. There the soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding. He was arrested, while the former dictator did not offer any resistance.

The world media "in chorus" began to relish the details of the arrest of Saddam Hussein, disseminated by the Americans. In particular, it was reported that during the operation, 750 thousand dollars were found in one hundred dollar bills, two Kalashnikov assault rifles and a pistol. Two of Saddam's bodyguards were also found in the hole.

A video footage of the ousted president being examined by an American doctor was even shown to journalists covering the war in Iraq. Describing the arrested person, Lieutenant General Sanchez proudly declared: "This is a tired man, resigned to his fate!"

In an interview with RIA Novosti, an unnamed witness who worked as a translator for Hussein said that everything that American propaganda had previously told about the capture of the Iraqi president was a lie.

“A few months after the beginning of my cooperation with the US military, they got information, of course - completely secret, about the place where Hussein is hiding. It was a farm in the Ad-Dur district of Salah-ed-Din province - literally a few meters from the Tigris. Hussein's location was revealed by one of the relatives of his guard. The version was checked by following the bodyguard who brought food to Hussein - this man bought the best goods in the markets, and only certain brands, which, given the poverty in the country, aroused suspicion. They tracked him down and the version was confirmed, ”said the former translator.

According to him, the American special forces sprayed over the farm where Hussein was hiding, a kind of "sleep gas". When the ex-president was caught and evacuated by helicopter, the farm was plundered by the military - they ended up in their hands, including Hussein's personal belongings: a watch, clothes and shoes, a revolver, photographs. After the operation, the farm was covered with a kind of white powder, from which all the animals died, - said the translator.

According to the witness, at the time of his arrest, Hussein was in fact not in a "secret" pit, but in a room, he did not understand what was happening. Hussein, dressed in traditional Arab clothing - dishdasha, prayed. His hideout turned out to be an ordinary room with no means of communication, it contained only a wardrobe, two beds, a radio, a dictaphone, a small TV, some clothes and shoes. The president himself could not have climbed into the pit - at that moment he was too weak! "

An Iraqi translator, who wished to remain anonymous, accompanied the US military on a special operation to capture the Iraqi leader. He recalled that the Americans promised to pay millions of dollars to anyone who would give away the location of Hussein. But, apparently, he still has not received the money.