Saddam's sons killed in US raid

MOSUL -- The two sons of Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a massive US military raid in northern Iraq on Tuesday, the US military said.

Qusay (left), touted as Saddam's intended successor, and elder brother Uday, 'barricaded themselves in the house' and 'resisted fiercely' before they were killed in the US raid. -- AFP

They were killed in a raid on a building in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, US Army Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US-led ground forces in Iraq, said at a news conference in Baghdad.

He said positive identification of the bodies had been made from multiple sources.

Earlier, military sources said DNA samples of the bodies were sent to Washington for matching with specimens on file from undisclosed sources.

Witnesses said US helicopter gunships fired more than 20 missiles during a six-hour battle that started about 10.00 am (0600 GMT), demolishing the house.

Lt-Gen Sanchez said four US soldiers were also wounded during the operation.

Iraqis celebrate

Even before the deaths were confirmed, the Iraqi capital erupted in an explosion of celebratory gunfire.

People were seen standing on rooftops and emptying their clips into a night aglow with tracer bullets, while a few Baghdadis ventured out onto the streets to watch the skies lit red by the volley.
'Uday hit me before,' said Mr Mukhalid Mohamed Hussein, 28, recalling an episode in 1997 when a woman friend of Uday's asked the powerful eldest son of Saddam to beat him.
'This is a celebration. But I won't believe until I see him dead,' he added, beaming. -- AFP

The owner of the house, Mr Nawaf al-Zaidan, 'is believed to have informed US forces that Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay, Qusay's son, and a bodyguard named Abdul Samad took refuge in his house and he wanted to get rid of them', said a female relative of Mr Zaidan who asked not to be named.

The relative and other residents of the area said the helicopter gunships fired at the house after clashes broke out when US forces tried to go in to arrest those inside.

Other witnesses said Mr Zaidan, a sheikh of the Bu Issa tribe, and his son were arrested at the end of the battle.

Four charred bodies, later confirmed as including those of Qusay, the 'ace of clubs' on the US list of most-wanted Iraqis, and Uday, the 'ace of hearts,' were taken out of the house, relatives of mr Zaidan said.

The US civil administrator for Iraq, Mr Paul Bremer, in Washington for congressional briefings, called the deaths 'good news' for the Iraqi people and US forces.

The United States earlier this month announced a reward of US$15 million for information leading to the capture or death of the Hussein sons, while a US$25-million reward was offered for Saddam, whose fate has been unknown since he was toppled by US-British forces in April.