Hussein's Sons Killed in U.S. Raid
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 8:07 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26854-2003Jul22.html?nav=hptop_tb
By Walter Pincus and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 22, 2003; 6:15 PM
Uday and Qusay Hussein, the two sons of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, were killed today by U.S. troops in a firefight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez announced this afternoon in a news conference in Baghdad.
Sanchez, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, gave few details about the operation, but he said it lasted about six hours and involved troops from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, Special Forces and others. U.S. officials became aware of the location when a "walk-in" informant came to them last night and said that several high-ranking suspects could be found there. Officials in Washington said other intelligence sources were used to back up the informant.
Late this afternoon, the White House released a statment expressing pleasure at the outcome of today's attack. "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," the statement said.
Sanchez said more information on the operation would be coming tomorrow, and details of the attack were very sketchy. But an intelligence official in Washington said that tentative identification was made when the bodies were shown to several Iraqis who have been detained by U.S. forces and who told U.S. military officials that they were Hussein's sons.
"We're certain that Uday and Qusay were killed," Sanchez said. "We've used multiple sources to identify the individuals."
The resistance was reportedly stiff when the U.S. troops arrived at the villa in Mosul this morning. Sanchez said the "suspects barricaded themselves in the house" and "died in a fierce gun battle." Sanchez said U.S. forces responded with multiple weapons.
Four bodies were taken from the villa, but Sanchez said they have not yet confirmed the identities of the other two people. Four soldiers also were injured in the battle.
The dead did not include Saddam Hussein, U.S. officials in Washington said.
The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq had offered $15 million for information leading to the arrest or contributing to the confirmation of the deaths of the former Iraqi president's two sons. In response to a question, Sanchez said he believed that reward would go to the informant.
After their father, Uday and Qusay were the next two people on the U.S. list of most-wanted officials in Iraq, listed as aces in the deck of cards depicting former Iraqi officials being sought by U.S. troops. Both men were known as ruthless supporters of Saddam Hussein, and U.S. officials demanded that they leave the country with their father before U.S. troops launched the war to topple the Iraqi regime. U.S. officials wanted the brothers to face trial for crimes against humanity.
Uday, the elder son, controlled radio, television and newspaper outlets in Iraq and headed the militia, Saddam's Fedayeen. He also headed the country's Olympic Committee and was reported to have tortured athletes who did not compete as well as he hoped. He had a reputation for a violent temper and a flamboyant lifestyle. He was reported to have killed his father's food taster in an argument and was himself badly wounded by an assassin in 1996.
Qusay had headed the special military and intelligence units, including the elite Republican Guard, for his father and was widely viewed as Saddam Hussein's obvious successor. Although he was also known for being ruthless in guarding his family's position of power, he was considered more stable than his older brother.
Uday Hussein was the ace of hearts and Qusay Hussein the ace of clubs in the cards handed out by the U.S. military.
Last month's capture of Hussein's closest aide, Hussein Abid Hamid Mahmud, in a house in Tikrit, the former leader's hometown, gave a new impetus to the hunt for Hussein and his two sons.
Mahmud was one of the few people whom the former president is believed to have trusted completely. According to U.S. Defense Department officials, Mahmud told U.S. authorities that Hussein and his sons survived the war and that the sons had escaped with Mahmud to Syria, only to be forced to return to Iraq, The Washington Post's Bradley Graham reported last month. The officials said Mahmud also described a plan by Hussein and his sons, Uday and Qusay, to split up to increase their chances of survival as U.S. forces closed in on Baghdad in April.
At the time, officials expressed uncertainty about whether Mahmud was telling the truth, and one official said Mahmud had not provided specific information on where Hussein might be found.
On June 19, U.S. forces attacked a convoy in western Iraq along the Syrian border after intelligence indicated that figures associated with Iraq's former leadership, possibly including Hussein's sons, may have been present. The following week, Rumsfeld said he had "no reason to believe" Hussein's sons were killed in the raid.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
By Walter Pincus and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 22, 2003; 6:15 PM
Uday and Qusay Hussein, the two sons of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, were killed today by U.S. troops in a firefight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez announced this afternoon in a news conference in Baghdad.
Sanchez, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, gave few details about the operation, but he said it lasted about six hours and involved troops from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, Special Forces and others. U.S. officials became aware of the location when a "walk-in" informant came to them last night and said that several high-ranking suspects could be found there. Officials in Washington said other intelligence sources were used to back up the informant.
Late this afternoon, the White House released a statment expressing pleasure at the outcome of today's attack. "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," the statement said.
Sanchez said more information on the operation would be coming tomorrow, and details of the attack were very sketchy. But an intelligence official in Washington said that tentative identification was made when the bodies were shown to several Iraqis who have been detained by U.S. forces and who told U.S. military officials that they were Hussein's sons.
"We're certain that Uday and Qusay were killed," Sanchez said. "We've used multiple sources to identify the individuals."
The resistance was reportedly stiff when the U.S. troops arrived at the villa in Mosul this morning. Sanchez said the "suspects barricaded themselves in the house" and "died in a fierce gun battle." Sanchez said U.S. forces responded with multiple weapons.
Four bodies were taken from the villa, but Sanchez said they have not yet confirmed the identities of the other two people. Four soldiers also were injured in the battle.
The dead did not include Saddam Hussein, U.S. officials in Washington said.
The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq had offered $15 million for information leading to the arrest or contributing to the confirmation of the deaths of the former Iraqi president's two sons. In response to a question, Sanchez said he believed that reward would go to the informant.
After their father, Uday and Qusay were the next two people on the U.S. list of most-wanted officials in Iraq, listed as aces in the deck of cards depicting former Iraqi officials being sought by U.S. troops. Both men were known as ruthless supporters of Saddam Hussein, and U.S. officials demanded that they leave the country with their father before U.S. troops launched the war to topple the Iraqi regime. U.S. officials wanted the brothers to face trial for crimes against humanity.
Uday, the elder son, controlled radio, television and newspaper outlets in Iraq and headed the militia, Saddam's Fedayeen. He also headed the country's Olympic Committee and was reported to have tortured athletes who did not compete as well as he hoped. He had a reputation for a violent temper and a flamboyant lifestyle. He was reported to have killed his father's food taster in an argument and was himself badly wounded by an assassin in 1996.
Qusay had headed the special military and intelligence units, including the elite Republican Guard, for his father and was widely viewed as Saddam Hussein's obvious successor. Although he was also known for being ruthless in guarding his family's position of power, he was considered more stable than his older brother.
Uday Hussein was the ace of hearts and Qusay Hussein the ace of clubs in the cards handed out by the U.S. military.
Last month's capture of Hussein's closest aide, Hussein Abid Hamid Mahmud, in a house in Tikrit, the former leader's hometown, gave a new impetus to the hunt for Hussein and his two sons.
Mahmud was one of the few people whom the former president is believed to have trusted completely. According to U.S. Defense Department officials, Mahmud told U.S. authorities that Hussein and his sons survived the war and that the sons had escaped with Mahmud to Syria, only to be forced to return to Iraq, The Washington Post's Bradley Graham reported last month. The officials said Mahmud also described a plan by Hussein and his sons, Uday and Qusay, to split up to increase their chances of survival as U.S. forces closed in on Baghdad in April.
At the time, officials expressed uncertainty about whether Mahmud was telling the truth, and one official said Mahmud had not provided specific information on where Hussein might be found.
On June 19, U.S. forces attacked a convoy in western Iraq along the Syrian border after intelligence indicated that figures associated with Iraq's former leadership, possibly including Hussein's sons, may have been present. The following week, Rumsfeld said he had "no reason to believe" Hussein's sons were killed in the raid.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company