Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who had been on the run for eight months since the US-led coalition force invaded Baghdad on April 9, was captured by the US forces alive without resistance, the US military said Sunday.

At a press conference held Sunday in Baghdad, the US military showed video footage and pictures of the ousted Iraqi leader in custody, who, with thick, graying beard and bushy hair, was seen undertaking a medical examination and seemed cooperative.

Saddam was captured in an underground hole at a farmhouse, 15 km south of Tikrit, his hometown in northern Iraq, at 8:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) Saturday, US ground forces commander in Iraq Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters.

The hole was seven or eight feet (about three meters) deep and its entrance was camouflaged with bricks and dirt, Sanchez said.

The former Iraqi president was arrested without any resistance, said Sanchez, "Not a single shot was fired."

"He was a tired man, a man resigned to his fate," Sanchez told reporters.

Saddam had said before that he would never be caught alive. In addition, it was reported that there were US$750,000 on him when he was caught.

US officials termed as a "historic event" the capture of Saddam, who was No. 1 on the US 55 most wanted list and there was a bounty of US$25 million on his head.

A cheering broke out as US administrator Paul Bremer announced at the joint news conference: "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him."

"This is a great day in Iraq's history, for decades hundreds of thousands of you suffered at the hands of this cruel man...those days are over forever," Bremer said.

"Now it is time to look for the future, to your future of hope, to a future of reconciliation," he said in a brief speech addressed to the Iraqi people.

"There is a new opportunity for the members of the former regime, whether military or civilians to end their bitter opposition. Let them now come forward in a spirit of reconciliation and hope, lay down their arms and join you," he stressed.

Hopefully, the capture will bring end to the "bitter opposition" attacks, Bremer said.

However, Sanchez said there will be no conclusive end of resistance attacks in Iraq though former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured.

"We do not expect a complete elimination" of the resistance attacks and it remains a critical time in Iraq, Sanchez said.

In the press room, one of the Iraqi journalists shouted "death with Saddam" and some others were seen weeping in tears.

For his part, Adnan Pachachi, member of the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), said, "Gone forever is the state of fear, intelligence and oppression."

"We are going ahead with our efforts to recover sovereignty so that Iraq would be able to recover its dignity and take its place with international community," he said on behalf of the IGC.

Ahmad Chalabi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council, said Sunday that Saddam will be put on an open and public trial.

The US administration hopes Saddam's capture will help reduce organized Iraq resistance that has killed 198 American soldiers since US President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

Iraqi citizens in Baghdad fired gunshots to celebrate the capture of their former leader.

A similar scene was witnessed more than four months ago when Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed by the US-led coalition forces in northern city of Mosul.

Arab leaders in the Middle East seemed cautious in rushing to announce any reactions to the capture of the former Iraqi leader.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher Sunday told reporters that the capture of Saddam would quicken the transfer of power to the Iraqis and the US forces' pullout of the war-torn country.

As for Egypt's view on the prospects of putting Saddam on trial, Maher pointed to a fair trial for anyone, saying that every defendant has the right to defend himself.

"The decision must be that of the Iraqi people," Maher said.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Sunday was also cautious to make remarks on the arrest of the former Iraqi leader, saying the Iraqis should determine his fate.

"One must let the Iraqi people have its word on this important event which amounts to the old regime's definitive outcome," Moussa told reporters.

He said it is the Iraqi people who should decide the fate of the old regime and its former leaders, especially after "unacceptable and serious developments" discovered after the fall of the regime.

Jordanian King Abdullah II, during a meeting visiting Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Itshiro Aezawa, said on Sunday that the Iraqi people should gain independence and manage Iraq's affairs by themselves, the official Petra News Agency reported.

The king stressed that his country will spare no efforts to provide assistance to speed up different humanitarian organizations's activities in Iraq.

Iran, that fought a bitter eight-year war (1980-1988) with Iraq, hailed the arrest of Saddam by the US forces. Iranian Vice President Mohammed Ali Abati on Sunday expressed joy and satisfaction over the news.

"I am happy that Saddam Hussein has been arrested, and I am even more happy because he is a criminal who committed so many crimes against the Iranian people," Abati said in Iran's first official reaction to the arrest of Saddam.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Sunday also hailed the capture of ousted Saddam, saying that it will lead to "the victory of the democratic world against the empire of darkness."