A senior member of Saddam Hussein's government handed Baghdad over to U.S. troops in exchange for a pay-off and a safe exit from Iraq, Le Journal du Dimanche claimed Sunday. Citing a senior Iraqi source, the French newspaper reported that Soufiane al Tikriti, head of the Special Republican Guard in Baghdad, ordered his troops not to defend the capital against attack by U.S. and British forces, and particularly to hold fire against coalition helicopters circling over the city. In exchange, Le Journal claimed, Tikriti was paid several hundred thousand dollars and, along with 20 family members, was ferried in a...
