In Tikrit, US soldiers lit up cigars after hearing the news of Saddam's capture.
"The intimidation and fear this man generated for over 30 years are now gone," said Major General Raymond Odierno, who commands the division that carried out the raid.
Despite the celebration throughout Baghdad, many residents were skeptical.
"I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it," said Mohaned al-Hasaji, 33. "They need to show us that they really have him."
Ayet Bassem, 24, walked out of a shop with her 6-year-old son.
"Things will be better for my son," she said. "Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future."
From hiding, US commanders have said Saddam played some role in the anti-US resistance that has killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians in Iraq. In the latest attack, a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car outside a police station yesterday morning west of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 more, the US military said.
After invading Iraq on March 20 and setting up their headquarters in Saddam's sprawling Republican Palace compound in Baghdad, US troops launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive leader, placing a US$25 million bounty on his head and sending thousands of soldiers to search for him.
Saddam was one of the most-wanted fugitives in the world, along with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network who hasn't been caught despite a manhunt since November 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan.
Saddam's sons Qusay and Uday -- each with a US$15 million bounty on their heads -- were killed July 22 in a four-hour gunbattle with US troops in a hideout in the northern city of Mosul. The bounties were paid out to the man who owned the house where they were killed, residents said.
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