Saddam Hussein, who eluded capture for more eight months since the war against Iraq, was finally captured on December 13, hiding in a 'spider hole' at a farmhouse near Tikrit, in northwest Iraq.

Ironically, the farmhouse was close to one of his opulent palaces.

Television images released by the coalition forces showed the disheveled, leader being examined by American doctors before being shaved and moved to an unknown destination.

'The capture of Saddam means we have removed the symbols of defiance,' United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said a few days later, 'but not the root cause of the defiance that exists in Iraq today, and we do expect the violence to go on. After the deaths of Uday and Qusay, I would just note that the violence actually spiked a bit before settling back down.'

Clearly, the Saddam Hussein era in Iraq has come to an end. The tyrant had ruled Iraq since 1979. Earlier, from 1968, he was vice-president to the then ruler, General Ahmed Hassan Bakr.

Text: Ramananda Sengupta

Saddam captured
The Gulf War