Saddam Hussein was captured by American soldiers only after he had been taken prisoner by Kurdish forces, drugged and abandoned ready for US troops to recover him, a British Sunday newspaper said.
Saddam came into the hands of the Kurdish Patriotic Front after being betrayed to the group by a member of the al-Jabour tribe, whose daughter had been raped by Saddam's son Uday, leading to a blood feud, reported the Sunday Express, quoting a senior British military intelligence officer.
The newspaper said the full story of events leading up to Saddam "exposes the version peddled by American spin doctors as incomplete".
A former Iraqi intelligence officer told the Express that Saddam was held prisoner by a leader of the Kurdish Patriotic Front, which fought alongside US forces during the Iraq war, until he negotiated a deal.
The deal apparently involved the group gaining political advantage in the region.
An unnamed Western intelligence source in the Middle East told the Express: "Saddam was not captured as a result of any American or British intelligence. We knew that someone would eventually take their revenge, it was just a matter of time." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
