This video recounts the detailed story behind the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in December 2003, several months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad. Despite an extensive manhunt, including the creation of a "deck of cards" for wanted regime members and significant financial bounties, Saddam remained elusive, reportedly moving constantly. A turning point occurred with the death of his sons, Uday and Qusay, following a tip-off. However, the primary breakthrough came from Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox, who shifted the focus of the hunt from former officials to Saddam's elite bodyguards, specifically targeting the Al-Muslit family from his hometown of Tikrit. A painstaking chain of interrogations, starting with a nephew and tracing associates and even a son, eventually led to the capture of Muhammad Ibrahim Omar Al-Muslit, a key bodyguard and resistance leader. While Muhammad Ibrahim revealed Saddam's hiding village, Ad-Dawr, he did not directly disclose the exact location. The discovery ultimately occurred when Muhammad Ibrahim subtly indicated a buried rope outside a small shack, leading soldiers to a hidden trapdoor and the underground "spider hole" where Saddam was found. The capture was a major symbolic victory for the coalition, though the video notes it did not end the instability and ongoing conflict in Iraq.
How Saddam Hussein Was Found: The Full Story of Operation Red Dawn
0:00 The video opens by depicting the scene of Saddam Hussein's capture in a small rural village in Iraq in 2003, emerging from an underground hole covered with styrofoam after U.S. soldiers discovered his hiding place.
1:23 Following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, which was justified to the world by claims of weapons of mass destruction (later proven false), Baghdad quickly fell, but Saddam Hussein remained at large.
3:34 The U.S. military created a "deck of cards" featuring the most wanted former regime officials, with Saddam Hussein as the Ace of Spades, to aid in the hunt. Large bounties were also offered ($15M for sons, $25M for Saddam).
4:46 A key break came four months into the war when an informant in Mosul led troops to Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, resulting in a shootout and their deaths.
6:38 The informant who provided the tip about Saddam's sons was paid a $30 million reward and relocated to the U.S., intended to encourage others to come forward with information about Saddam.
8:10 Facing a lack of reliable information from targeting former officials, Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox initiated a new strategy: focusing the hunt on Saddam's elite bodyguards, the "Hamaya," who were most likely protecting him.
9:54 Maddox concentrated on Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and a stronghold of the Al-Muslit family, from which many of the bodyguards originated.
10:18 Through interrogations, a prominent name emerged: Muhammad Ibrahim Omar Al-Muslit, an inner circle bodyguard believed to be leading the post-invasion resistance.
11:18 A chain of interrogations, starting with Muhammad Ibrahim's nephew and leading to his associates, driver, and eventually his son, Muslit, provided crucial details about Muhammad Ibrahim's movements.
11:56 Muslit revealed that his father still fished at a pond in Samarra, a detail connecting to an earlier report that Saddam loved Masgouf fish, suggesting Muhammad Ibrahim might be meeting Saddam or involved in providing for him.
13:22 Despite the tenuous link, a raid on the Baghdad home of Muhammad Ibrahim's uncle, mentioned by a fisherman questioned at the pond, successfully resulted in Muhammad Ibrahim's capture.
14:08 After interrogation by Maddox, Muhammad Ibrahim eventually revealed that Saddam was hiding in the farming village of Ad-Dawr.
14:22 Troops, with Muhammad Ibrahim present, searched farmhouses in Ad-Dawr but found no trace of Saddam.
15:01 Standing outside a small, empty shack pointed out by Muhammad Ibrahim, soldiers were about to give up, but Muhammad Ibrahim subtly indicated a rope buried near the hut's foundation.
15:29 The rope led soldiers to a camouflaged trapdoor, beneath which they found the underground hiding place ("spider hole") and captured Saddam Hussein.
15:43 The U.S. military publicly announced the capture of Saddam Hussein alive, declaring an end to a "dark and painful era," although the war in Iraq continued for years.
16:17 The image of Saddam's capture in the spider hole became iconic, widely circulated in media and pop culture, symbolizing his downfall.