U.S. Special Forces have tracked President Saddam Hussein. and his younger son, Qusay, to an area near Tikrit, which had been one of the last
strongholds of his regime. Opposition sources said the Husseins were believed to be near Rabfiya in northeastern Iraq.
Saddam was said to be one of 15 regime leaders who have been wandering
the outskirts of Tikrit, the sources said. The group was also said to
include Saddam's secretary Abid Hamid Mahmud Al Tikriti.
Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi said Saddam is moving
around northern Iraq with his bodyguards. Chalabi said most of Saddam's
aides have abandoned him.
"He has not left Iraq," Chalabi said in an interview to the London-based
A-Sharq Al Awsat daily on Monday. "He is with his sons though not the entire
time. He is traveling with a special escort and his former aides have no
idea where he is or what he is doing."
U.S. Special Operations forces have been searching for Saddam and his
entourage, the newspaper said. A-Sharq Al Awsat said U.S. forces raided a
hotel in the Tikrit area where Saddam was said to have been hiding, but the
entourage had left several hours earlier.
U.S. forces have been in the Tikrit area since Friday searching for
Saddam and his entourage, the newspaper said. The newspaper said Saddam's
key aide, Hassan Ali Majid, remains alive, contrary to earlier reports that
he was killed in a U.S. bombing attack. Majid is believed to have found safe
haven along the Syrian border.
Former Defense Minister Sultan Hashem has also been traced, the
newspaper said. Hashem, who had been reported as dead, was found in the area
of Mosul and has been living with a local tribe. The U.S. military has been
negotiating with Hashem and his tribal protectors for his surrender, Kurdish
sources told the newspaper.
On Sunday, the United States said Saddam's Ba'ath Party has been
dissolved. U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks said the coalition
would no longer tolerate any activity by the deposed party.
"The Arab Baath Socialist Party is dissolved," Franks said in a radio
broadcast. "The apparatus of Iraqi security, intelligence and military
intelligence belonging to Saddam Hussein are deprived of their authority and
power."
