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Apparent Saddam capture photos surface
Unauthorized photos circulating on Internet
Friday, January 16, 2004 Posted: 3:02 AM EST (0802 GMT)
It's unknown who took the photographs, apparently of Saddam Hussein's capture, that have shown up on the Internet.
(CNN) -- New photographs that appear to be of Saddam Hussein on the day of his capture by U.S. forces are circulating around the Internet one month after the ousted Iraqi leader was found in a narrow hole in the ground.
One photo apparently shows Saddam shortly after he was pulled from the infamous "spider hole" where he had been hiding on December 13.
Someone who could be a U.S. soldier, a translator or another civilian working with the U.S. military is holding Saddam down on the ground.
Some people have suggested this image shows Saddam bleeding from the mouth, but examination of the photograph has been inconclusive.
Pentagon officials did not release the photographs nor will they officially verify their authenticity and even comment on them.
The photographs appear to have been taken by someone in, or working closely with, the U.S. military when troops nabbed Saddam on a farm compound near the village of Ad Dawr on the banks of the Tigris River outside Tikrit.
Soldiers said afterward that when Saddam was found he said, in English: "I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq. I want to negotiate."
The soldiers replied: "President Bush sends his regards."
Capt. Desmond Bailey, who led the close-in security team as part of Operation Red Dawn, recalled at the time that "it wasn't the blaze of glory we expected."
One of the new photos shows dozens of military personnel gathered around as Saddam is led into one of his former palaces in Baghdad that is now serving as a military headquarters.
Although CNN has not independently verified the authenticity or source of the photos, they do appear genuine, according to a senior U.S. government official.
Certain key details known about the event match with the photographs.
For instance, Saddam appears to be wearing the same clothes and the same beard as seen in the pictures officially released by the U.S. military.
Another new photograph of the box of U.S. currency found with Saddam matches the green case of $750,000 dollars displayed by the U.S. military after his capture.
A new picture of Col. James Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, who directed the 600 troops who took part in the capture, matches other photos of Hickey.
The photos don't reveal much more about Operation Red Dawn, whose mission was to capture or kill Saddam, but they do give a little more of a look at how Saddam was handled in the hours after his capture
The Pentagon is reportedly not happy the photographs got out.
But it is uncertain anyone will be reprimanded, because almost every soldier carries a pocket camera these days, and that makes it unlikely whoever took the photos will be identified.
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