As “one of Saddam’s lifelong bodyguards,” Adnan Abdullah Abid al-Musslit was believed to have detailed knowledge of the former president’s hiding places, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the raid. He said documents taken from the home and information obtained from the men would be useful in the hunt for Saddam.
The stocky bodyguard struggled to break free as soldiers arrested him, and they had to wrestle him to the ground and drag him down the stairs, Russell said.
“Were we surprised? He’s a bodyguard. That’s why we went in with our steely knives and oily guns,” Russell said.