The sons of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have been killed in a U.S. military operation in northern Iraq, a senior American general said today.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad: “We are certain that Uday and Qusay were killed today.”
Hundreds of U.S. troops stormed a house in the city of Mosul, following a massive gun battle in which the brothers and two other high-ranking allies of Hussein were reported killed.
The “suspects barricaded themselves in the house” and “resisted fiercely,” Sanchez told a news conference.
CBS News earlier cited sources as saying the bodies “strongly resemble” Saddam’s sons, but are “pretty badly shot up.” People who knew the two men were allowed to see the two bodies and indicated they believe they are Saddam’s sons.
Qusay’s 14-year-old son is also believed to be one of the four dead, according to CBS.
Eyewitnesses in Mosul report Uday and Qusay were inside the house, which is said to be the home of a cousin of the ousted Iraqi president.
The eyewitnesses said the men inside the home fired on U.S. troops as they approached.
According to the Reuters News Agency, some 200 soldiers pounded the house using machineguns and rockets during a four-hour battle before storming the building and retrieving the bodies.
Television footage showed thick, black smoke seeping out of the heavily battered, two-story villa.
Major Trey Cate, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, told Reuters four “high-value targets” were found dead after the battle.
“Individuals of very high interest to the coalition forces were hiding out in the building,” Lt. Col. William Bishop of the division explained to Reuters.
According to the Associated Press, four coalition forces were wounded.
“Over the period of many years, these two individuals were responsible for countless atrocities committed against the Iraqi people and they can no longer cast a shadow of hate on Iraq,” said a White House statement.
The United States offered a $25 million reward for information leading to Saddam’s capture and $15 million for each of the sons.
Uday and Qusay are No. 2 and 3 in the U.S. Central Command’s deck of cards depicting the “most wanted” former Iraqi leaders.
In the former Iraqi regime, Uday was the commander of the Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary unit that fought against coalition troops reportedly using Iraqi citizens as human shields. Uday also headed Iraq’s Olympic committee, and human-rights organizations say he brutally tortured athletes over their poor performance.
WorldNetDaily reported in May that Uday and his father were believed to be alive and hiding in a Baghdad suburb.
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Uday was considering surrendering to U.S. forces but the U.S. was taking a tough negotiating posture because officials were confident he would eventually be found and captured.
Saddam’s younger son, Qusay, supervised the country’s feared Special Security Organization and held a top Baath Party post in the former regime.
U.S. officials reported Qusay took approximately a billion dollars in cash from the central bank in Baghdad just before the Iraq war, but that most had been recovered.
Coalition troops found some $600 million in U.S. currency in boxes near Baghdad palace complexes.
