Delta Force - Arresting Saddam Hussein
December 13th 2003
Following the fall of Saddam's regime, Delta Force, along with the 160th SOAR and other SOF units such as the British SAS, formed a joint task force (TF-121), with the aim of hunting down high value members of the regime, with Iraq's former dictator as the top prize.
When intelligence indicated that Saddam was hiding on a farm south of Tikrit, TF-121 were mobilized and tasked with taking him into custody. Delta were flown to the farm by Helicopters from the 160th SOAR. Troops from 4th Infantry Division secured the surrounding area as Delta swept the complex. Saddam was eventually found hiding down a spider hole. Delta used their training in handling prisoners to subdue a belligerent Saddam, securing him with plasticuffs and placing a sack over his head before strapping him into the back of a MH-6 Little Bird helicopter.
Farm wear Saddam was found (google earth kmz file)
Saddam was flown to one of his former presidential palaces in Tikrit (a misnomer, most of these so-called 'palaces' were hardened military bunkers), where American Special Forces medics checked him over. There was a concern that Saddam might try to take his own life so he was given a full cavity search for hidden pills.
U.S. forces were also concerned that, once news of his capture leaked to the media, that forces loyal to Saddam might attempt a rescue. With this in mind, once Saddam had been checked and photographed, he was quickly helicoptered to an airbase in Baghdad, guarded by a host of Special Operations Forces, both in the air and on the ground. No sooner had the chopper touched down, Delta took Saddam onto a MC-130 Combat Talon, flown by a USAF Special Operations Squadron, which was waiting on the tarmac with its engines running. Minutes later, Saddam was airborne, en route to a secret destination.