Saddam Hussein was captured in Iraq
On this day · 13 December 2003
On December 13, 2003, U.S. forces pulled the deposed Iraqi leader from a cramped "spider hole" near his hometown of Tikrit.
On December 13, 2003, U.S. forces captured former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, ending an eight-month manhunt. He was found hiding in a concealed “spider hole” at a farm in ad-Dawr, about nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit, during a mission codenamed Operation Red Dawn.
The break came from human intelligence. Interrogators worked through Saddam’s network until, on December 12, a raid in Baghdad netted a key associate who revealed where the fugitive was likely sheltering. Early the next morning, Task Force 121, backed by soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division, moved in.
Saddam did not resist. Recovered with him were a pistol, an AK-47, and $750,000 in U.S. cash.
The capture was a major moment in the Iraq War. Saddam was later tried by an Iraqi tribunal, convicted of crimes against humanity, and executed in 2006.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
