Doha (Qatar): Abu Dhabi Television aired pictures on April 18 of what it said was
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the streets of Baghdad last week, greeted by an
enthusiastic crowd as he waved and was hoisted onto a car hood to greet throngs of
fellow Iraqis.
Abu Dhabi Television said the film was shot on April 9, the day US forces moved into
Baghdad. The footage, if authentic and if actually of Saddam, would mean that an
American bombing of three houses on April 7 aimed at killing the Iraqi President was
unsuccessful. The United States said it was studying the footage.
April 9 was the day a crowd of Iraqis, with the help of US Marines, toppled a 40-
foot statue of Saddam in a main square of the capital.
Clad in a black beret and an olive military uniform, Saddam moved through the crowd
as people cheered, "With our bloods and souls we redeem you, Oh Saddam."
Helped by guards, Saddam ascended the hood of a car and appeared a bit embarrassed
as he took in cheers. Some of those cheering him held AK-47 assault
rifles.
Alongside him stood a man who resembled his younger son, Qusay.
Though there was nothing to indicate definitively when the pictures were shot, haze
was visible in the background that could have been dust - but also could have been
smoke from US bombardments.
At US Central Command in Doha, Qatar, a spokesman said he could not comment on
whether the footage showed the real Saddam or a lookalike.
