CIA analysis shows Saddam's voice on tape authentic

9.00am

WASHINGTON - The CIA has determined that a tape broadcast this week purporting to be Saddam Hussein commenting on the deaths of his two sons was almost certainly authentic, a CIA official said on Wednesday.

"We've determined it is highly likely to be him," the official told Reuters.

On the audio tape, aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television on Tuesday, the ousted Iraqi leader said his sons Uday and Qusay who were killed by US forces last week died as martyrs, and he vowed America would be defeated.

US officials said Saddam's comments on the deaths of his sons, killed in a battle with US forces at a villa in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on July 22, probably persuaded more Iraqis that Uday and Qusay were dead.

"It should convince those few Iraqis who were doubtful that Uday and Qusay are dead," a US official said.

The US military took the extraordinary measure of releasing photographs of the blood-spattered faces of Uday and Qusay and allowing journalists to see the bodies in an attempt to convince Iraqis that Saddam's sons were dead.

US forces are intensely hunting for Saddam in Iraq and the United States has offered a US$25 million($43.04 million) bounty.

US authorities were conducting a variety of tests, including DNA testing, on materials collected during recent raids in Iraq to determine whether Saddam had been at any of those locations, another US official said.

The US military has received an increased number of tips about Saddam since his sons were killed, suggesting that fear of Saddam making a comeback in Iraq had lessened, the official said.

"It's a matter of time," he said.

Five audio tapes purportedly of Saddam aired on Arab television this month in which the speaker urges Iraqis to fight US forces.

CIA technical analysis of the two tapes released before the most recent one had determined they were "likely" and "probably" the voice of Saddam.

- REUTERS

Reuters translation of excerpts from Saddam tape


Photos: The bodies

Herald Feature: Iraq