BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Iran played a key role in capturing deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit last month, a Lebanese newspaper reported.
Daily al-Mustaqbal, owned by Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, quoted a well-informed Paris-based Arab source as saying the Kurds only had a secondary role in capturing Saddam while the essential credit should go to the Iranians who succeeded in trapping him.
The source said Saddam was moving among four hideouts located in the so-called Sunni triangle northwest of Baghdad and relied on a small number of assistants who relayed his messages and letters.
"Saddam was convinced that the resistance he was leading would not be effective unless the Shiite community joined in and consequently he dispatched a messenger to Tehran to seek Iranian help in encouraging Iraqi Shiites to turn against the U.S. forces," the source said.
He said the Iranians fooled Saddam giving him the impression they were ready to collaborate with him and asked him to dispatch a senior aide.
"The senior messenger was Saddam's son-in-law whose movements were monitored with the help of the Kurds and eventually Saddam's hideouts were located," the source added.
U.S. forces then raided the four hideouts at the same time with gas, capturing Saddam in one of them.
