US says Qusay and Uday killed in raid

8.00am

UPDATE - BAGHDAD - The US military says it has confirmed that the two sons of Saddam Hussein, Qusay and Uday, were killed in a fierce gun-battle in northern Iraq.

"We're certain that Uday and Qusay were killed," Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez told a news conference in Baghdad. "We've used multiple sources to identify the individuals."

Sanchez said the US military had been given a "walk in" tip that Qusay and Uday were in the villa in Mosul that was raided by US forces on Tuesday.

Saddam was not believed to have been at the site of the four-hour battle at a villa in the northern Iraqi city where US troops used machine guns, grenades and anti-tank missiles after coming under fire from inside, officials said.

The deaths of Saddam's sons would provide a huge boost to the US operation in post-war Iraq, which has been hammered in recent weeks by hit-and-run ambushes by Saddam loyalists that have killed 39 Americans since Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

The younger, Qusay, was one of his father's most trusted lieutenants. Uday was feared throughout Iraq for his cruelty.

The United States had offered a US$15 million ($26.36 million) reward for information leading to the capture of each son and a US$25 million reward for Saddam.

Major Trey Cate of the 101st Airborne Division said 200 soldiers were sent to the house after receiving a tip that important Saddam loyalists were there.

Cate said five Iraqis were killed in the battle, including four "high-value individuals," and at least five people were wounded.

"They did have information that led them to believe that there might be some senior Iraqi types there," one US official said.

A senior Pentagon official noted, however, that the Defence Department had stumbled before in prematurely suggesting that a former senior Iraqi official known as "Chemical Ali" had been killed. Defence officials later said the status of that man, Ali Hassan al-Majid, was uncertain.

US officials believe Saddam is alive and most likely in northern Iraq where his hometown of Tikrit and former power base is located.

That view was strengthened after a CIA analysis determined an audiotape aired on Arab television last week was "probably" the voice of Saddam and could have been recorded in recent days.

Although cautious because previous reports proved false, Mideast expert Gary Sick of Columbia University said if Saddam's sons had been killed "that would be a major step forward in beginning to establish some measure of security" in Iraq.

"In general, it's fair to say the continued existence of Saddam and his sons and the group immediately around them is very troublesome for the United States and for Iraqis," he said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq