He was also one of those who caught Saddam: Who is Kevin Holland?
The US soldier, who was with the team that captured Saddam Hussein in his hiding hole in 2003, spoke for the first time. "We said to Saddam, 'Bush greets you,'" said a soldier named Kevin Holland.
New information has emerged about the operation against Saddam Hussein, who disappeared after the 2nd Gulf War in Iraq and was caught in his underground hole on December 13, 2003.
Retired sergeant Kevin Holland, one of the soldiers who captured Saddam, who was hiding after the US-led coalition forces entered the capital Baghdad, spoke 20 years later.
Holland, the only soldier to serve in both the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6 and Special Forces Operations Detachment Delta, has revealed never-before-heard details about the operation against Saddam.
Stating that they went to the small town of Ad-Dawr where Hussein was hiding, Holland said that a Texas soldier pulled Saddam out of his hiding place.
Holland said that when they found the dark spot that the informant had mentioned, they started digging, then sand fell into the pit, then they entered a brick-lined pit too dark to see with the naked eye and came face to face with Sadam.
Explaining that Saddam's hands and then his big, bushy hair came out of the hole, the American soldier said that they tied Saddam up and said, "President Bush is sending his greetings."
Holland, who was 66 at the time, stated that considering the possibility that Saddam might be armed, he was laid outside and a Texan soldier detained him.
Stating that Saddam had told them in English that he was open to negotiation, Holland said that they had replied to him, "It's too late now".
Explaining that he had entered the cave, the US soldier said, "It was 1.80 meters long enough for a man to lie down, and there was a small bench where he could sit."
When asked how Saddam survived in a hole for so long, Holland replied that the dictator "never stayed there long". Holland added that Saddam had two bodyguards in the region.
Expressing his feelings about Saddam, Holland said, "That's when you could feel that he was just a bad guy."
Holland said that "Saddam was a despot who killed more than 30,000 Iraqis with mustard and nerve gas between 1983 and 1988."
Holland completed his special service certification in 2005 and was injured in Afghanistan in 2011. He retired in 2013.
Saddam was executed by hanging in 2008.
Special operations veteran describes the capture of Saddam Hussein in new details
https://nypost.com/2023/01/01/saddam-hussein-capture-described-by-special-operations-vet-kevin-holland/