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Baghdad: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been captured alive in his hometown of Tikrit, a member of the US-appointed Governing Council said today (Dec 14, 2003).

Council member Dara Noor al-Din said the Council was informed of the former President's capture in a telephone call from L Paul Bremer, the US administrator for Iraq.

"Bremer has confirmed to the Governing Council that Saddam was captured in Tikrit," Noor al-Din said. "He spoke on the phone to several members, including Ahmad Chalabi."

Another Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, was earlier quoted by Iran's official news agency, IRNA, as saying Saddam had been captured in Tikrit.

In Baghdad, residents fired small arms in the air in "celebration", and gunfire echoed in neighbourhoods across the city. Earlier in the day, rumours of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a Northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.

Agencies

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