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Iraq in the late 50s of the 20th century was at a moment of political change. On a late autumn night in 1959, just one year after the founding of the Republic of Iraq, Qasem's motorcade marched down Rashid Avenue in the capital, Baghdad. However, in an abandoned building on the east side of the street, five young men armed with guns, all members of the Baath Party, planned an assassination. The leader was Saddam Hussein, a political genius who had been passionate about social movements since he was a child, and who had been imprisoned a year earlier for assassinating a consul in his hometown, but where he met and earned the respect of Socialist comrades.
Iraq had just survived the July Revolution, which overthrew the Faisal dynasty and ended feudal rule. Qasim had just taken power, but his regime was unstable. He advocated independence and non-alignment, which ran counter to the Baath Party's goal of "unifying the entire Arab world", and as a result, people in the party regarded Qasim as a thorn.
So Saddam Hussein devised a concise and straightforward assassination plan. He first contacted the C.I.A. to get Qasim's itinerary in Baghdad that day. Then, leading his squad, armed with large-caliber weapons, ambushed on the building next to the road where the Qasim convoy was traveling, only waiting for the target to appear, and then strafing from a height.
The squad consisted of four vehicles, with Saddam Hussein commanding four teammates, each responsible for attacking one of them. Fire and gunfire suddenly cut through the night in Baghdad, and bullets slammed into Qasim's convoy. Qasim's loyal bodyguards fought back, but in the darkness of the night, neither side could determine the number and casualties of the other, and could only shoot with intuition and courage.
Under the fierce attack of the assassins, all four of Qasim's vehicles burst into flames, and the fire and gunfire attracted the troops of the Qasim regime in the city, and they immediately surrounded the assassination site. In the fierce firefight, Saddam's team suffered heavy casualties, one of his teammates was hit in the chest by a bullet and fell on the spot, and Saddam himself was shot.
At the time, however, Saddam was unaware of Qasim's situation. Qasim's bodyguards also suffered heavy casualties, as did himself. If the assassins continued their attacks, Qasim would most likely have died, but all this escaped Saddam's sight.
The dark night in Baghdad became the only witness of their encounter. If a great Iraqi were to die this night, it would be a major turning point in Iraqi history. However, fate seemed to favor them, and they all survived.
The assassination failed, and the teammate who was shot and killed was Saddam's cellmate in prison. Saddam understood that the military could easily trace the identities of his teammates through their bodies. In order to escape retaliation, they must evacuate immediately.
However, Saddam still had a bullet in his leg and the wound was infected, seriously affecting his mobility. It is not possible to go to the hospital because the doctor will immediately report their identity. So Sadaji decided to take care of the wound herself. With the help of his companions, in severe pain, he took the bullet out of his lower leg with a dagger and scissors. This wound stayed with him all his life.
To avoid the manhunt, Saddam and his teammates decided to split up. Saddam fled northeast alone to his hometown, but his progress was slow due to a leg injury and he could not escape the pursuing police. At the most dangerous moment, he hid in a hiding place provided by his uncle, preparing to recuperate from his injuries. However, inexplicable uneasiness drove him to leave in a hurry, and soon after, the police arrived at the place.
In this way, Saddam Hussein hid all the way east, and eventually came to the vicinity of the Gangris River. By crossing the river, he could return to his native Tikrit, which seemed to be a glimmer of hope. However, the Qassem government has set up multiple police checkpoints in the port town to capture the assassins.
Saddam is a tall man dressed in a female niqab who tries to blend into a family, pretending to be a female dependent. He had to bend his legs in a large robe and lower his height to disguise himself as a woman. The set of niqabs was expensive, and Saddam Hussein had only 13 dinars left on him. However, this disguise allowed him to pass through the checkpoint, and the inspectors only talked to the male host, ignoring the women in the back seat.
Through this clever disguise of "men pretending to be women", Saddam Hussein managed to get past the checkpoint. However, he faced another problem - how to cross the Tigris. It was late autumn, and the desert temperature dropped sharply at night, and the river was freezing cold. Saddam shivered in the water, and the river seeped into his wounds, exacerbating his pain.
When Saddam swam the middle of the Desgris River, he could barely hold on. Praying silently in his heart, he hoped that this mother river would protect him and allow him to cross alive. If he survives, he vows to return to Baghdad and lead his people to revive the entire Arab world.
In the midst of this river sacred to the Arabs, Saddam suddenly sprang up a force that enabled him to cross the river smoothly, albeit exhausted. He managed to cross the Tigris River and return safely to his hometown.
Forty years after that assassination escape, Saddam Hussein made a special trip to the banks of the Degris River to commemorate the hardship and embarrassment of the experience. He told the story in detail and proudly to those present and shaped it into his glorious resume for wide publicity.
However, in the spring of 2002, Iraq was embroiled in a war. Saddam, who ruled dictatorship for more than three decades, underestimated the military strength of the Anglo-American coalition and eventually collapsed. His proud "Republican Guard" collapsed in the face of advanced firepower in developed countries, and his followers who were once loyal to him betrayed.
On December 14, 2002, after 44 years of assassination on the run, Saddam Hussein returned to his homeland, but this time he was unable to receive asylum from his homeland. Two weeks later, he was arrested. On the last day of 2002, Saddam Hussein was executed.
Saddam Hussein had a chance to escape, but the bullet's wound on his leg prevented him from moving quickly. Perhaps it was the arrangement of fate, everything was decided in the gunfire of that night.
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