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Saturday, June 21, 2003
OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
DNA tests conducted
on Saddam's remains?
Convoy of luxury vehicles struck by missiles after satellite-phone conversation intercepted
Posted: June 21, 2003
9:07 p.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
DNA tests are being conducted on human remains recovered after U.S. missiles launched last week destroyed a convoy of luxury vehicles believed to have been transporting Saddam Hussein and members of his family, according to a report in the London Observer.
U.S. forces initiated the attack, involving an undisclosed number of Hellfire missiles, following the interception of a satellite-telephone conversation involving either Saddam or his sons.
The convoy is believed to have been heading for the Syrian border and was targeted near the frontier town of Qaim.
The operation, not yet disclosed by the Pentagon, involved the U.S. Air Force and ground troops of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment based around Ramadi, a major town 70 miles west of Baghdad.
The Pentagon refuses to comment on what it calls 'operational matters'. However, a U.S. military source confirmed there was ''an incident in the Western Desert'' and information about it was ''unreleasable pending verification.''
Other military sources are cautiously optimistic tests will show Saddam and at least one of his two sons, Uday and Qusay, were among the dead, according to the Observer. It's not known when the tests will be completed, but the sources indicate it was ''imminent.''
The attack on the convoy came two days after the capture of Saddam's personal secretary.
Gen. Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti was picked up near Saddam's hometown. He told interrogators the former Iraqi leader survived the war and was hiding separately from members of his family. Mahmoud also said the last time he saw Saddam was in early April, when he and his two sons split up to avoid capture. His sons escaped to Syria, only to be forced to return to Iraq. according to CNN.
NBC News, which first reported that Mahmud was talking, reports some of the information revealed includes places where Saddam or his sons may be found.
A Special Operations group known as Task Force 20, made up of army and navy counter-terrorist teams, has been spearheading the long hunt for Saddam and his family members.
