Capture of Saddam Hussein

Operation Red Dawn
Operation Red Dawn
Part of the Iraq War
	Samir, a 34-year-old Iraqi-American military interpreter who helped find Saddam and pull him from his hideaway in December 2003.
Location	Ad-Dawr, Iraq; 34°28′22″N 43°46′53″E / 34.47278°N 43.78139°E
Commanded by	Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno; Col. James Hickey; Lt. Col. Steve Russell;
Target	Saddam Hussein (POW)
Date	13 December 2003
Executed by	4th Infantry Division 1st Brigade Combat Team; Task Force 121 C Squadron – Delta Force; ISA;
Outcome	Operational success Capture and arrest of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and two others;

Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. The military operation to capture him was codenamed Operation Red Dawn, named after the 1984 American film Red Dawn.

The mission was executed by joint operations Task Force 121—an elite and covert joint special operations team, supported by the 1st Brigade Combat Team (led by Colonel James Hickey) of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Raymond Odierno.

They searched two sites, "Wolverine 1" and "Wolverine 2", outside the town of ad-Dawr, but did not find Saddam. A continued search between the two sites found Saddam hiding in a "spider hole" at 20:30 hrs local Iraqi time. Saddam did not resist capture.