Friday, May 20 2005 19:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Saddam Hussein, once the ruler of Iraq and one of the world's most feared despots, has now been reduced to shuffling around his prison compound in his underpants and washing his own dirty socks in a simple bowl, a British tabloid said today (May 20, 2005) in a report accompanied by intimate photographs obtained from American "sources."

The Sun's exclusive photographs of 68-year-old Saddam, more used to gold taps and toilet seats, gave a fascinating insight into his pathetic life behind bars, and the US military said it will launch a probe into the matter.

The report -- with photos the tabloid said it had obtained from "US military sources" -- noted that by the time of his downfall in April 2003 with the arrival of US troops in Iraqi capital Baghdad, Saddam had accrued 100 palaces and luxuriously appointed residences, a priceless fleet of vintage cars, four wives and a personal yacht the size of a cross-channel car ferry.

In contrast, the photos splashed in the tabloid show him bare-chested and clad in white underwear and holding an item of clothing, washing his own clothes in a bucket, sleeping with a black top on his head, as also wearing robes and sandals, shuffling about in prison.

Saddam is awaiting trial for genocide, torture and numerous other crimes against humanity that saw the disappearance and murder of 300,000 people during his rule.

In Baghdad, a US military spokesperson said an investigation has been launched into who took the snaps and what kind of action should be taken as the photos violated Pentagon directives and possibly the Geneva Convention for humane treatment of detainees.