- TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) -
Saddam Hussein's vast palace complex in Tikrit -- his hometown and power
base during decades of brutal rule -- lies in ruins, shattered by U.S.
bombs, occupied by Marines and plundered by looters.
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- U.S. soldiers and crowds of Iraqi scavengers descended
on the palace by the banks of the Tigris river on Monday after Tikrit,
the last major stronghold of Saddam's forces, fell to an attack by Marines
backed up by warplanes and attack helicopters.
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- In the lush palm gardens around the opulent sandstone
buildings, Marines washed, shaved and used the flowerbeds as toilets. Awestruck
Iraqis wandered through the grounds and hunted for booty to steal from
their deposed leader. One man in a dusty robe dragged off a stolen chandelier
in a sack.
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- Twisted metal and rubble were littered around the main
palace building, which was targeted by several U.S. air raids during the
war. Inside, behind the palace's large wooden doors, was a scene of devastation.
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- Parts of the palace had collapsed, and smashed blocks
of concrete from upper stories were piled on the patterned marble floor.
Some chandeliers also lay shattered on the ground, while others still hung
precariously from the ceiling.
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- A film of gray dust covered every surface.
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- No furniture was left in the main palace, but there were
still pickings for looters in other parts of the compound.
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- In one villa, with walls of white and rose-colored marble,
sheets were still laid on a bed. On low marble tables in the villa were
parts of a chess set, and a volume of poetry.
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- In one bathroom was a large red-enamel Jacuzzi.
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- SADDAM'S STRONGHOLD
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- The sprawling palace complex, one of dozens Saddam had
around Iraq but special because this is the town of his childhood, stands
incongruously in Tikrit, a dusty town of gray one-story buildings. Saddam
was born in a village nearby.
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- His concentration of power among his closest family,
and distrust of most people outside his Albu Nasir tribe, meant Tikritis
formed the backbone of his most loyal military forces.
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- People named 'al-Tikriti' (of Tikrit) pepper a U.S. list
of the most wanted.
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- Among the modest houses and shops that make up most of
the town, a spectacular sandstone mosque towers over the rooftops.
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- The statues and portraits of Saddam in Tikrit are untouched
-- unlike elsewhere in Iraq where many have been vandalized.
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- The town was strangely quiet on Monday, with few people
on the streets and no sign of the Iraqi forces who had been expected to
defend Saddam's last bastion.
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- In villages outside Tikrit stood abandoned Iraqi tanks.
Locals said many Iraqi troops had fled weeks ago, and others left in the
last week as U.S. forces took Baghdad.
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- Planes flew over the town, but the sporadic fighting
of the last two days seemed to be largely over.
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- Asked about how the battle for Tikrit had been, U.S.
Private 1st Class Manuel Vega said:
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- "Mainly boring. I got shot at yesterday, the first
time I've ever been shot at. I would have never thought a year ago I would
have been in Iraq eating moldy bread, but here I am."
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