Saddam touched his beard during the exam. Saddam, with a thick, graying beard and bushy, disheveled hair, was seen as doctor examined him, holding his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. forces, reports CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier.Įager to give Iraqis evidence that the elusive former dictator had indeed been captured, Sanchez played a video at the news conference showing the 66-year-old Saddam in custody. The capture of Hussein, considered a hero throughout much of the region, might trigger payback directed at U.S. The streets of Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and the center of his power base, were quiet, reports CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras. 'The Iraqi people can finally be assured that Saddam Hussein will not be coming back - they can see it for themselves,' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. The White House said Saddam's capture assures the Iraqi people that the deposed leader is gone from power for good. He seemed defiant, trying to find excuses for the crimes in the same way he did in the past.' The official added: 'He didn't seem apologetic. 'He answered, 'Those are mobs.' When we told him about the mass graves, he replied, 'Those are thieves.'' 'When we told him, 'If you go to the streets now, you will see the people celebrating,'' Abdel-Mahdi said. 'He was unrepentant and defiant,' said Adel Abdel-Mahdi, a senior official of a Shiite Muslim political party who, along with other Iraqi leaders, visited Saddam in captivity. Sanchez, who saw Saddam overnight, said the deposed leader 'has been cooperative and is talkative.' He described Saddam as 'a tired man, a man resigned to his fate.' National Security Correspondent David Martin reports that intelligence developed by detainees - not a tip - led to the capture of Saddam. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Saddam admitted his identity when captured. The tunnel was roughly in the middle of the compound.Ī U.S. The entrance to the hide-out was under the floor of a small, walled compound with a room in one corner and a lean-to attached to the room.

A pipe to the concrete surface at ground level provided air. Bricks and dirt camouflaged the entrance.Ī Pentagon diagram showed the hiding place as a 6-foot-deep vertical tunnel, with a shorter tunnel branching out horizontally from one side. The cellar was little more than a specially prepared 'spider hole' with just enough space to lie down. Saturday in a walled farm compound in Adwar, a town 10 miles from Tikrit, said Lt.

His speech will be covered live by CBS News. Bush will address the nation at noon Eastern time.

The news lifts a heavy political weight from President Bush's shoulders, reports CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts. White House officials are absolutely elated, saying it's a great day for Iraq. Saddam was one of the most-wanted fugitives in the world, along with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network who has not been caught despite a manhunt since November 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan.

In the latest attack, a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car outside a police station Sunday morning west of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 more, the U.S. commanders have said that while in hiding Saddam played some role in the guerrilla campaign blamed on his followers. Washington hopes Saddam's capture will help break the organized Iraq resistance that has killed more than 190 American soldiers since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1 and has set back efforts at reconstruction.

Saddam hussein capture we got him