Why would he betray two men whom, by most accounts, he had been hiding in his home for three weeks? And were they really there for so long?Neighbours and witnesses of the US attack have offered anecdotes that seem to confirm he was host to the two brothers. For instance, Mr Zaydan, who was hardly popular in the area, has been spending unusual amounts of cash on luxury items, notably groceries. Moreover, he was paying in cash on the spot, which apparently was not his normal habit. The local grocer, Thair al-Dabba'agh, said: "For about three weeks, Nawaf would buy expensive foodstuffs and pay for them up front, which is very unusual for him, so I figured he had important guests. But only when I heard the news yesterday, I understood that he was hiding Saddam's sons. When this huge US force swooped down on Nawaf's house a lot of things made sense."In fact, no one reported seeing any sign of the brothers and, aside from spending the money on food, Mr Zaydan and his family seemed to have been going about their lives as usual, tending to their garden and leaving for routine visits and chores.At first, many things about the raid and the presence of the men in the villa did not make sense.
Mosul is not an area heavily populated with supporters of the old regime. However, it may have been for that reason that the pair hid there, hoping it was the least obvious place for the Americans to look "They probably came here because it's safe. People here don't have any connection with Saddam," said Muhammad Khalil, a 36-year-old businessman, as he stood outside the remains of the three-storey home.Moreover, Mr Zaydan, a tribal leader in the region, apparently had close ties to the family. Indeed, he had boasted to neighbours in the past not only that he was close to Saddam, but that there was some blood relationship between them. Perhaps, therefore, he seemed like the last best refuge for the brothers.The geography of the villa might have seemed appealing.
It is fronted by a busy four-lane highway, making it a good location for the brothers to hide with little danger of prying eyes looking in from the outside. Moreover, it abutted another building on one side, while open land on the other sides ensured privacy.If it is true that Mr Zaydan took them in three weeks ago, at what point did he decide to shop them to the Americans? And why? It now emerges that his ties with Saddam's family were not always as cordial as at first appeared. He and his brother, Salah, were jailed several years ago for the crime of falsely claiming kinship with the ruling clan. He was only released last October under a general amnesty declared by Saddam to bolster support for his regime.But bad feelings may have lingered.
