Students march and weep for Saddam

An Iraqi university student holds a bill with the picture of Saddam Hussein during a rally in support of the captured leader at his home town of Tikrit, 180km north of Baghdad yesterday. Six hundred US soldiers nabbed the elusive Iraqi leader late Saturday after finding him hiding in a tiny hole dug under a small hut, just 15km southeast of his native town of Tikrit. PHOTO: AFP

Before being dispersed by Iraqi police and US troops, who struck and arrested several people, they shouted the usual Iraqi slogans, "With our blood, with our soul we will defend you Saddam Hussein."

"All Iraq sings the glory of Saddam Hussein", they chanted.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Some demonstrators wept and many carried old dinar notes bearing Saddam's face.

Najla Hussein, 21, studying education, said she turned out "to condemn the arrest of our president Saddam Hussein."

"We demand his immediate release," she added.

US forces found Saddam hiding down a hole outside Tikrit on Saturday night, after eight months on the run.

Meanwhile, the people of Tikrit, long the standard-bearers among Saddam Hussein loyalists, sat in stunned silence watching the astonishing pictures of the ex-president in US custody after eight months on the run.

In the coffee and tea shops along the main street, it took some time for reality to sink in, as the seated men drew on cigarettes in clouds of smoke.