Tribal leaders bury Saddam's sons

TIKRIT, Iraq - The bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, killed by United States troops in July, were buried in the deposed dictator's hometown of Tikrit on Saturday by members of their tribe, witnesses said.

They said the bodies were wrapped in Iraqi flags and buried in a local cemetery after arriving from Baghdad in an ambulance. There was a heavy US military presence.

Uday and Qusay were killed nearly two weeks ago in a US raid on their hideout in a villa in the northern city of Mosul. Their bullet-ridden bodies were taken to the US base at Baghdad airport where they were displayed to journalists.

Qusay's teenage son Mustafa was also killed in the raid.

Muslim tradition stipulates that bodies must be buried as soon as possible after death. But US officials, anxious to avoid the graves of the brothers becoming a shrine, said they had delayed the burial while they consulted prominent Iraqis on what should be done with the corpses.

A US army spokesman said the bodies had been handed to the Iraqi Red Crescent on Saturday. The Red Crescent said the bodies were then taken to Tikrit and given to members of Saddam's tribe. Witnesses said at least two representatives from the tribe were present when the bodies were buried.

"We received the bodies of Uday and Qusay, and the son of Qusay, this morning at 9am (1700 NZT)," Jamal al-Karboli, president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, told Reuters in Baghdad. "Our employees delivered the bodies to relatives."

Some locals in Tikrit, a stronghold of support for Saddam, said they regarded the dead brothers as martyrs.

"They are the heroes of Iraq," one said.

US officials declined to comment on the burial, saying they would make a statement later.

Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division swooped on a house in Tikrit overnight and seized a man suspected of organising attacks on US troops, in the latest of a series of raids that US officers say are closing in on Saddam himself.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq