Boozer
07-22-2003, 10:24 AM
Uday and Qusay -- key members of Saddam's regime -- are thought to be among four people killed during a dramatic four-hour battle in Mosul, northern Iraq.
While there has been no official confirmation of the deaths, one U.S. official told CNN: "We are reasonably certain they could have met their maker."
Intelligence reports indicated Uday and Qusay who both have $15 million bounties on their heads, were in the Mosul area and the official added: "We didn't just stumble across them." (Map)
A special military task force formed to hunt for Saddam and his top supporters led the raid, supported by extensive armor and air cover, officials said.
Two hundred members of the 101st Airborne Division also joined the assault, and no one was captured, a U.S. official told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
The military went in and engaged in a "big firefight," the official said. "We have bodies that could very well be them," said the U.S. official. (Gallery: The firefight scene)
The charred bodies were recovered in the home of a wealthy contractor after the gun battle, Miral Fahmy, a Reuters correspondent in Mosul, told CNN. One U.S. soldier was wounded, she added.
Military sources in Baghdad said the bodies were those of high-ranking allies of Saddam.
A senior Pentagon official said one of the two other bodies appeared to be that of a teenage boy. U.S. officials noted that Qusay has a teenage son. The other body recovered appeared to be that of a bodyguard.
A U.S. official said, there were "indicators" that "prominent figures," possibly Uday and Qusay Hussein, were in the area. The official said Saddam Hussein was not among them.
CNN Correspondent Rym Brahimi said it was possible DNA tests would be carried out on the bodies. She added that Uday had a series of medical conditions that could be used to help identify him
Pentagon officials told CNN that all four bodies have been flown out of the Mosul area so work can begin on formally identifying them.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld briefed President Bush about the Mosul operation after it was over, a senior defense official told CNN, but he cautioned not to read too much into that.
"Part of the reason he discussed this operation in particular was because he knew it would get a lot of attention, and that first reports are often wrong," the official said.
The initial White House reaction was cautious, although one official said confirmation that the two sons were killed would "brighten" spirits in an administration that has been under sharp criticism recently from those who accuse the White House of exaggerating the threat posed by the former Iraqi regime.
"There is reason for that optimism but for now I am constrained in what I can say," the official said.
While there has been no official confirmation of the deaths, one U.S. official told CNN: "We are reasonably certain they could have met their maker."
Intelligence reports indicated Uday and Qusay who both have $15 million bounties on their heads, were in the Mosul area and the official added: "We didn't just stumble across them." (Map)
A special military task force formed to hunt for Saddam and his top supporters led the raid, supported by extensive armor and air cover, officials said.
Two hundred members of the 101st Airborne Division also joined the assault, and no one was captured, a U.S. official told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
The military went in and engaged in a "big firefight," the official said. "We have bodies that could very well be them," said the U.S. official. (Gallery: The firefight scene)
The charred bodies were recovered in the home of a wealthy contractor after the gun battle, Miral Fahmy, a Reuters correspondent in Mosul, told CNN. One U.S. soldier was wounded, she added.
Military sources in Baghdad said the bodies were those of high-ranking allies of Saddam.
A senior Pentagon official said one of the two other bodies appeared to be that of a teenage boy. U.S. officials noted that Qusay has a teenage son. The other body recovered appeared to be that of a bodyguard.
A U.S. official said, there were "indicators" that "prominent figures," possibly Uday and Qusay Hussein, were in the area. The official said Saddam Hussein was not among them.
CNN Correspondent Rym Brahimi said it was possible DNA tests would be carried out on the bodies. She added that Uday had a series of medical conditions that could be used to help identify him
Pentagon officials told CNN that all four bodies have been flown out of the Mosul area so work can begin on formally identifying them.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld briefed President Bush about the Mosul operation after it was over, a senior defense official told CNN, but he cautioned not to read too much into that.
"Part of the reason he discussed this operation in particular was because he knew it would get a lot of attention, and that first reports are often wrong," the official said.
The initial White House reaction was cautious, although one official said confirmation that the two sons were killed would "brighten" spirits in an administration that has been under sharp criticism recently from those who accuse the White House of exaggerating the threat posed by the former Iraqi regime.
"There is reason for that optimism but for now I am constrained in what I can say," the official said.