In late 2003, U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, at a remote farm near Tikrit where he had been hiding in a concealed underground shelter. The discovery came after an intensive manhunt following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq earlier that year.

The day after the announcement of Hussein’s capture, a limited group of journalists were granted access to the site. Permission to visit was tightly controlled by the U.S. military, which had imposed a cap on the number of reporters allowed to enter. With assistance from John Burns, a chief foreign correspondent, a graphics reporter managed to join the last helicopter transporting media personnel to the location.

The shelter, often referred to as a “spider hole,” was a narrow, vertical shaft just wide enough for a single person. It led to a small horizontal chamber approximately six feet long and about two and a half feet wide and tall. Inside the cramped space, an air vent was positioned at one end and a fluorescent light fixture at the other, though neither was operational at the time of the visit, contributing to the dark and confined atmosphere.

The graphics reporter, prepared with a headlamp brought along for the assignment, utilized it to map the interior of the hidden chamber. This sketching facilitated the creation of a detailed visual representation of the concealment site, which was subsequently published to provide the public with an in-depth view of where Hussein had endured his final days as a fugitive.

The capture and exposure of this hiding place marked a significant moment in the conflict in Iraq, symbolizing the end of Hussein’s elusive flight and a step toward efforts to stabilize the country.