Saddam caught

Well Maybe..

Blair confirms Saddam capture
December 14, 2003 - 10:33PM

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has confirmed today that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had been captured alive in Iraq.

"I very much welcome the capture last night of Saddam Hussein," the prime minister, US President George W Bush's closest ally in the Iraqi war, said in a statement released by his office.

"This 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.

"This fear is now removed," the statement continued.

"It also gives an opportunity for Saddam to be tried in Iraqi courts for his crimes against the Iraqi people.

"We should try now to unite the whole of Iraq in rebuilding the country and offering it a new future."

The Pentagon was cautious, saying only that it believed its troops had probably caught the former dictator.

But Washington's Iraqi allies, including Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi as well as a British diplomatic source told Reuters that Saddam was in US custody.

A US-led civil administration news conference in Baghdad was due at 3pm (2300 AEDT)
The 66-year-old former leader, who has been on the run since US forces took Baghdad on April 9, was dug out from a cellar in Tikrit, Chalabi said. US soldiers removed a beard and took samples for DNA testing.