Captured in hometown bolt-hole

The area around Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, a hotbed of resistance since he was ousted by US-led coalition forces, was always an obvious retreat for the fallen dictator.

The former Iraqi leader was born in the village of Al Awja near the town and over his years in power enjoyed the intense loyalty of its residents.

Sunni families in Tikrit were the backbone of his support and were promoted to important positions in the army and the ruling Baath Party to form part of the regime’s innermost circle.

Many members of Iraqi’s elite Republican Guard were recruited from the town and surrounding areas.

The Iraqi leader also created an air base and air force academy in the area.

Flanked by mountains, a vast desert and the Tigris, the small town was easily defended – and also provided a possible escape route to Syria.

But in the end Saddam was captured hiding in a hole in a farmhouse cellar 10 miles south of Tikrit, in the town of Dour.

In the past Tikrit’s only boast was that it was the birthplace of the great Muslim conqueror Saladin, who seized Jerusalem from the Crusaders in the 12th century and is said to be one of Saddam’s role models.

But the town thrived under the dictator’s rule and after the Baath Party came to power in 1968 was transformed from a sleepy rural centre whose main industry was the kalak, a small boat made of animal skins, into a sprawling urban development of some 30,000 people.

It came to boast grand new mosques and office blocks and hospitals, schools and roads viewed as among the best in the country.

One of Iraq’s main oil refineries, Baiji, is located nearby.

The town, which is 100 miles north of Baghdad, is also home to a huge shrine to Saddam’s late mother, Subha Tulfah al Musallat, known as the Mother of Militants.

Saddam himself still carries around constant physical reminders of his humble, village upbringing.

His accent is identifiably Tikriti, and on his right hand are three faded blue dots tattooed on him at an early age, a common ritual for village children.

He traditionally marked his birthday – 28 April – with lavish celebrations in the town.

Foreign dignitaries were among the guests and tens of thousands of people paraded through the streets in honour of the brutal leader they would continue to worship as a hero, even after his denouement.