US troops moved into Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit yesterday as a senior defence ... heart of the town and seizing the presidential palace without a fight as they rolled past abandoned ...

(JTA) — Near the start of the Iraq War in 2003, David Goldstrom found himself leading a Yom Kippur service for about 50 soldiers in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces in Tikrit, Iraq.

Military action against Iraq would start with US-led bombing raids on President Saddam Hussein's palaces and other symbols ... would be Saddam's home town of Tikrit, key ministries, and homes ...