Posted on 04/14/2003 8:23:56 PM PDT by Pokey78
SADDAM Hussein is holed up in a desert fortress with his generals preparing for a final bloody showdown, war commanders believe.
US troops who swept into his home town of Tikrit were told by residents that Saddam was in the city four days ago.
But he fled to the desert village of Al Hawijah with his family, aides and a personal army as Allied soldiers advanced on the city.
The dictator left behind hundreds of Fedayeen paramilitaries to defend Tikrit and buy him some time — but they folded as US Marines moved in.
Saddam has now turned Al Hawijah — about 60 miles north-east of Tikrit and 50 miles west of Kirkuk — into his last stronghold.
Kurdish police were massacred when they ventured into the village a day after he arrived. Survivors said the area was now overrun with foreign Arabs loyal to Saddam.
But it is not known if murderous sons Uday and Qusay were with him — or if they are already dead.
Al Hawijah now threatens to be the scene of Saddam’s final battle as Allied troops close in.
Commanders had thought he would stage his last stand in Tikrit.
But US tanks yesterday rolled into the city’s main square and troops seized Saddam’s palace.
Forces hunting the tyrant and his aides were also carrying out house-to-house searches and checking documents and computers for clues.
US military chiefs said they had encountered less resistance than expected in Tikrit. But some locals warned the troops to beware of Syrian suicide bombers in the city.
Allied commanders also fear a small army of the bombers is on the loose in Baghdad.
The fanatics are thought to be armed with “suicide vests” packed with explosives and ball bearings.
Up to 80 of the vests are missing from a batch of 300 found after Saddam’s forces fled last week.
Now they could be in the hands of bombers prepared to die to kill British and American troops.
US Brigadier General Vince Brooks said foreign fanatics, mostly from Syria, had flooded into Iraq to support the collapsing regime.
He added: “We believe some of the explosive vests were for them and we believe some are missing.
“There are still threats even though there are no organised leaders. There are individuals willing to carry out actions of violence.”
US soldiers have found 11 mobile chemical and biological labs buried near an Iraqi artillery plant.
No chemical or biological weapons were found inside the metal vans uncovered near Karbala.
But Brigadier General Benjamin Freakly said his troops found mountains of documents inside the labs.
The paperwork could be crucial in the search for the “smoking gun” proving Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi nuclear scientist has surrendered to authorities in a Middle Eastern country and is being quizzed by US officials.
Jafar Jafar is believed to know key people and locations of facilities connected to Iraq’s nuclear weapons program, an official said.
Saddam’s feared half-brother was captured by the SAS as he tried to flee Iraq, it emerged last night.
British forces swooped on Watban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti after a tip-off from locals. He is now being interrogated at a secret location.
A seven-strong SAS team lay in wait at a checkpoint manned by Iraqis, then pounced as Watban tried to cross to Syria by car.
A senior military source said: “It was over in seconds. It was a classic snatch for our men. When these guys go in there’s no point resisting.”
Special forces have been offering Iraqis payment in US dollars, Swiss francs and even gold bullion for information on regime leaders.
Watban — five of spades in the US military’s pack of cards featuring wanted men — is the most senior Saddam aide captured so far.
The source added: “This is a major victory. We believe Watban knows Saddam’s escape plan and could be vital in our search for him”
Watban played a key role in Saddam’s rise to power, holding jobs in the security services. As Interior Minister he encouraged the use of torture and rape.
US officials claim an interim authority could be running Iraq within weeks.
The first in a series of meetings meant to shape a future government takes place in Nasiriyah today. Invitations went out to 75 leaders.
But rivalries are already emerging between different ethnic, religious and exiled groups — and some may not even attend the meeting.
A senior British soldier was yesterday announced as one of three deputies to former US General Jay Garner, who has been placed in charge of rebuilding Iraq.
Major General Tim Cross promised to approach his job “gently and carefully”.
Would you guys get serious. The last thing we want to do is blow his miserable body into molecules.
We need an identifiable corpse.
And here I was getting all sad that they might not get a chance to use it.
I'm sure he will. The solution is to cut off all escape routes before making a move on this "fortress" If he tries to go through the desert, the Predators will find him, and then the scanvengers will get him, although there are things even a buzzard won't eat, and his stinking corpse might just be one of them. If he stays, the Air Force or the Marines will get him, or the Kurds. I kind of hope it's the Kurds, as long as they make videos. I understand the Kurds do "intersting" things with knives. If the Marines get him, he'll just get to do a rope trick, after a long and probably nauseating trial. If the Air Force finally gets him, we're back to those buzzards again.
I do hope so, hot pursuit and all that. Hopefully we find him about the time we get to the Med. coast, unless we come in that way too, in which case about the time the forces converge on Damascus.
We are gonna be seeing these 'Saddam Found!' stories for the next thirty years.
Or, as he is known to close friends, J'ar J'ar.
I was looking for a map for the last week to find this town and did. A week ago Dan Gourea(sp) a retired military man on MSNBC, said Al Hawijah would be the worse battle, not Tikirit. He said because this is where they were hiding all the WMD's. Now, a few days later, about 2-3 days ago this area was of interest to the CIA because there was heavy fighting, and Dan said where there is heavy fighting, they are hiding something.
So I know this is right and it is either Sadam, the WMD's or both. I never believed he went to Syria.
This is exactly what I felt was the reason MOAB made it to the theater.
I believe so, but I don't think his bodyguard knew that the second time ;)
And hopefully we will continue killing him apace, across the Middle East, leaving a vast trail of dead Islamic warriors in our wake...
Same goes for Bin Ladin - as long as we don't catch him, we can keep killing him too...
This story is bogus!
Since Kirkuk is 70 miles north-east of Tikrit, there is no point on a map of Iraq that is "60 miles north-east of Tikrit and 50 miles west of Kirkuk", or even close to those coordinates. And according to the Geographic Names Database (maintained by NIMA), there is no town named anything like "Al Hawijah" anywhere in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein has been dead since the first night of the battle when his bunker was targeted by bunker-buster bombs dropped from F-117's.
--Boot Hill
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.