The Hindu : Saddam's bodyguard arrested

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2003

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Saddam's bodyguard arrested

U.S. soldiers taking into custody Adnan Abdullah Abid al-Musslit, one of Saddam Hussein's top bodyguards, during a raid in Tikrit, Iraq, on Tuesday. — AP

TIKRIT (Iraq) July 29. American soldiers overpowered and arrested a bodyguard of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, today and said they obtained documents and information that could help them close in on the former dictator.

As ``one of Saddam's lifelong bodyguards,'' Adnan Abdullah Abid al-Musslit was believed to have detailed knowledge of Mr. Hussein's hiding places, said Steve Russell, who led the raid. He said documents taken from the home and information obtained would be useful in the hunt for Mr. Hussein.

``Every guy we get tightens the noose,'' said Lt. Col. Russell, Commander of the 4th Infantry Division's 22nd Infantry Regiment. ``Every photo and every document connects the dots.''

The bodyguard struggled to break free as soldiers arrested him, and they had to wrestle him to the ground and drag him down the stairs, he said.

``He's a bodyguard. That's why we went in with our steely knives and oily guns,'' Lt. Col. Russell said. ``If everything else had failed and we just got that one guy, we would be happy.''

But the series of pre-dawn raids in the heart of Mr. Hussein's hometown led to the arrests of 12 persons, including Daher Ziana, former head of security in Tikrit, and Rafa Idham Ibrahim al-Hassan, a leader of the Saddam fidayeen militia.

The raids began at 4 a.m. when soldiers fired three shotgun blasts into the locks of the house where Al-Musslit was living with his family.

Moments later, an Associated Press reporter watched as soldiers pulled al-Musslit from the house bleeding and barefoot. Al-Musslit had retired from his job as one of Mr. Hussien's most trusted bodyguards, but the former Iraqi leader called him back into service before the war started.

About a block away, soldiers stormed a house where Ziana was living, emerging from one of the house's ornate arched entrances with four men with their hands tied behind their back. One of the men was identified as Ziana, Mr. Hussein's security chief in Tikrit.

Soldiers cut white sheets from the home into strips to make blindfolds for the men, who sat under guard in the front yard.

Nearby, soldiers pulled al-Hassan from another house. Al-Hassan was believed to be a brigadier- general and a leader of the fidayeen militia.

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