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10 years ago today: Saddam Hussein statue toppled in Baghdad

It was 10 years ago today that a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled--and broadcast on TVs across the globe--in Firdos Square in the center of Baghdad, April 9
Iraqis watching a statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as it is pulled down in Baghdad's al-Fardous square on April 9, 2003. (Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images, File)
Iraqis watching a statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as it is pulled down in Baghdad's al-Fardous square on April 9, 2003.

It was 10 years ago today that a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled--and broadcast on TVs across the globe--in Firdos Square in the center of Baghdad, April 9, 2003. The U.S. invasion of Iraq had begun only 20 days earlier. Hussein himself would not be captured for another eight months.

The iconic image of the statue coming down and Iraqi civilians cheering is a controversial one as it later came to light that it was not a spontaneous moment brought on by Iraqis but rather a managed moment by the U.S. military.

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