Breaking News: Bye Bye Uday and Qusay

[Evilmav2]

RIP

Hussein's Sons May Be Among Dead in U.S. Raid

By Walter Pincus and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 22, 2003; 1:14 PM


U.S. troops searching for leaders from the former Iraqi government killed four people in a firefight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul today and among them may have been the sons of Saddam Hussein, U.S. officials said.

Details of the attack were very sketchy in Washington and there was no immediate confirmation of the deaths. But one intelligence official said, "Among the dead may be Uday and Qusay" Hussein. Another official said that two of the bodies bore strong physical resemblance to the men. Both men were among their father's closest advisers and had been listed as aces in the deck of cards depicting former Iraqi officials being sought by U.S. troops.

The dead did not include Saddam Hussein, U.S. officials said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at his regular briefing that President Bush was aware of the reports and the attack but that they had no confirmation yet of the deaths. He said Bush had been in regular contact with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this morning on the issue.

Before the attack, U.S. troops from the Army's 101st Airborne Division had targeted the home in Mosul, which some wire reports said may have been owned by a Hussein relative. The target was chosen because of information from intelligence agencies who suspected high ranking members of Hussein's inner circle were there.

The resistance was reportedly fierce when the U.S. troops arrived this morning.

U.S. officers told the Reuters news agency that as many as 200 U.S. soldiers from had attacked the villa with machine guns and rockets during a four-hour battle.

"Individuals of very high interest to the coalition forces were hiding out in the building," Lt. Col. William Bishop of the 101st Airborne told Reuters in Mosul. "This morning we went to the building and surrounded it."

Major Trey Cate, spokesman for the division, said four "high-value targets" were found dead after the battle. A fifth Iraqi also died in the fighting and at least five were hurt.

Along with their father, Uday and Qusay are the top three on the U.S. list of most-wanted officials in Iraq. Qusay had headed the elite Republican Guard for his father and was widely viewed as his father's obvious successor. Uday, the elder son, published the official Iraqi newspaper Babel and headed the militia, Saddam's Fedayeen. Uday Hussein was the ace of hearts and Qusay Hussein the ace of clubs in the cards handed out by the U.S. military.



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.

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.

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

[u2sarajevo]

I will hold my breath on this news..... and wait for DNA...... but if it is true, it is good news.

[Evilmav2]

Fox News just said that military officials are 90-95% sure the bodies are the Husseins....

What the heck? Here is more breaking news: Fox is reporting that The Eifel Tower is on fire!

[cookies_n_mavs]

Hmm. I wonder what the fire is from!

[u2sarajevo]

This just in from CNN..... The nuclear fuel in North Korea just exploded... news at 11....

[Evilmav2]

Hahaha... Now it looks like Iraqi's all over Baghdad are shooting guns in the air in celebration of the deaths of the sons of Saddam.

We'll see just have to see how bad this Iraqi "quagmire" becomes, as we continue to roost out the murderous former leaders of Iraq, with the aid of friendly intelligence tips from the local population and with a judicious use of TOW missiles.

Methinks, that as we continue to wipe out the monied leadership of the Baathists, the mercenaries who hunt American troopers for giant monetary bounties will dry up and move on. The recent disruptions in Iraq are not the produce of a population in arms- they are the product of the still immensely rich Hussein cabal's tactics of paying murderors multi-thousand dollar bounties for the lives of bushwhacked US troopers, and as we crush the leadership and end it's ability to pay bounties, the marginal Iraqi resistance that we have seen over the last couple of weeks will disapear...



Screaming Eagles killed some Snakes today...

[u2sarajevo]

Dang you know how to get the patriotic pride swelling Evil....... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Drbio]

Clearly the Iraqis for the msot part are terrified of Saddams return. This would be a huge piece of news to the people of Iraq. I imagine that internal support would be galvanized with confirmation of the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein.

[Drbio]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's sons, Qusay and Uday, were killed Tuesday in a gunbattle with U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq said.

Their bodies were identified from "multiple sources," Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad.

"They died in a fierce gunbattle," Sanchez said. "They resisted detention and the effort of coalition forces to apprehend them."

When asked whether the $15 million bounties on both Uday and Qusay will be paid, Sanchez said, "I would expect that it probably will happen."

Uday, 39, and Qusay, 37 -- key members of Saddam's regime -- were among four people killed during the battle.

Sanchez said U.S. forces learned about the whereabouts of the brothers from a walk-in Iraqi tipster Monday night.

Sanchez said the 101st Airborne Division, Special Forces and Air Force assets participated in the six-hour operation on a residence near the northern edge of the city. (Map)

A 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. (Gallery: The firefight scene)

A senior Pentagon official said one of the other two 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 Saddam was not among them.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld briefed President Bush about the Mosul operation after it was over, a senior defense official said.

"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, though one official said confirmation that the two sons were killed would "brighten" spirits after recent criticism that the Bush administration exaggerated the former Iraqi regime's threat.

Both in deck of cards
Saddam and his sons have been fugitives since their government collapsed after a U.S.-led invasion in March. (Profiles: Qusay Hussein, Uday Hussein)

Mosul is a Kurd-controlled city about 110 miles [176 kilometers] from both Syria and Iran. Intelligence officials said they are investigating whether Uday and Qusay were attempting to find a way out of Iraq.

Retired Army Brig. Gen. David Grange said the deaths of Uday and Qusay would deal a psychological blow to Saddam loyalists attacking U.S. troops.

The hunt for Saddam in Iraq is led by a U.S. Special Operations team -- code-named Task Force 20 -- with support from the CIA. The task force, which also took part in the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, includes covert special operations forces from the various U.S. military services. (Lynch homecoming)

Qusay and Uday are the second- and third-most-wanted Iraqi leaders, and both are in the card deck of most-wanted Iraqis issued to U.S. troops in Iraq. Uday is the ace of hearts and Qusay the ace of clubs. (Flash interactive: Iraq's most-wanted)

Qusay has been the son widely perceived as most likely to have succeeded Saddam.

With Iraq preparing its defenses in the run-up to the war, Qusay was put in charge of four key areas, including Baghdad and Tikrit -- his family's tribal home.

When the war began, he was in charge of the country's intelligence network, the 80,000-strong Republican Guard and 15,000-member Special Republican Guard, which was responsible for protecting Saddam and his family.

Uday has a reputation for violence that included torturing Iraqi athletes who did not meet expectations. He ran the dreaded Saddam Fedayeen security force.

He was also in charge of the nation's Olympic committee, edited a leading newspaper, Babel, and was head of Youth TV, the country's most popular channel.

Just before the war, Uday warned that Iraqi troops would make the mothers of U.S. soldiers "weep blood instead of tears."

[FishForLunch]

You all should be ashamed celebrating the death of two Iraqi civilians.

Reed, JoshHoward5 dont worry Saddam is still alive, you democrats can applogize to him when he installed as the rightful ruler of Iraq by the Germany, France and the UN crowd.

[Drbio]

LOL...beware of sarcasm.


[img]i/expressions/moon.gif[/img]

[reeds]

actually, I am as happy as the next guy is about the news. Perhaps if all the leaders are soon killed, more of our soldiers will come home alive, not in body bags..thats what I care about..not the crap u care about

[southern_sweets]

I heard this news this morning. Of course in Austin, the live music capital of the world, it was presented in song...

"We finally killed Uday and Qusay"

"We finally killed Uday and Qusay"

"Ya, we blew them away"
"Those two had to pay"

"Now they're just 2 rot-ting corpses"


Sing along to the tune of YMCA.

*This post does not necessarily represent the political viewpoints of the poster. Any reference to political issues is purely coincidental. This post void were prohibited. Must be 18 or older to enter.

[u2sarajevo]

Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy. --Rambler

Now I am mad. I cannot believe that we released photos of the Hussain sons. How can we berate al Jazeera for releasing photos of dead US soldiers, then turn around and do the same thing?

This is making me mad.

[dallas_esq]

According to Arab world experts, the people of Iraq need PROOF that these boys are indeed dead. Presumably, we are doing it out of necessity.

[u2sarajevo]

okay, so have a funeral for them and an open casket viewing. But to be critical of a practice and then to do the same thing makes you a hypocrite.

[dallas_esq]

Well, they are fighting the war of public opinion in Iraq right now. The people there are wanting results quickly, their sense of urgency is even greater than ours. Showing the pictures allows them, in theory at least, to gain some credibility with these people, but more than that, it allows these people to experience what we as Americans hold so dear- instant gratification.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally posted by: dallas_esq
Well, they are fighting the war of public opinion in Iraq right now. The people there are wanting results quickly, their sense of urgency is even greater than ours. Showing the pictures allows them, in theory at least, to gain some credibility with these people, but more than that, it allows these people to experience what we as Americans hold so dear- instant gratification.

I had hoped that we would keep our integrity. Sad that we had to lose it to gratify a Nations hunger for ridding themselves from the burdens these two placed on that Country. If I were alJazeera, I would be pushing that point loud and clear.

[madape]

Quick, before you eat lunch. Go to foxnews.com and check out the great photos of the Hussein brothers.

[u2sarajevo]

That is what we have been discussing ape.....

[madape]

Did you see the giant hole in Uday hussein's face? That's a wonderful sight, although I can't say I was prepared to see it on my lunch break.

[FishForLunch]

Here is what some democracts feel on this issue. Truly pathetic

I'll admit they're scum and rightfully so, but anything that lands as even more humiliation on W's grotesque shrivelled face is that much the better.

It's sad, really, that as despicable as they are, Saddam's family seems to be the lesser of two evils when you compare them to the wretched little bastard* occupying the White House and destroying America in the process...

Link

[FishForLunch]

Here is some more quotes from liberals

To the Editor:

To my knowledge, Saddam Hussein's sons had not been found guilty of any offense by an international court of law. Their killing by United States troops (front page, July 23) is therefore extrajudicial.

ANDY COX
San Francisco, July 23, 2003

NY Times

[Drbio]

Fish- it just goes to show that some people are pathologically stupid.

[dallas_esq]

I never was too impressed with the whole concept of a "War Crimes Tribunal," if your evidence is good enough to send in an army, I think they've pretty much had their day in court.

[FilthyFinMavs]

I can't believe the US would stoop to the level of giving out pictures of Saddam's son. I think just in general it is wrong but i'm not here to debate it because regardless its good news for America or any other Country for that matter. I think the US could've responded when asking if they aer really dead in a better response. I got the pleasure of also seeing these pictures while eating Madeape. I saw the one picture of one of his sons which didn't look so bad. Then there came the chubby son that just done it for me.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs
I got the pleasure of also seeing these pictures while eating Madeape. I saw the one picture of one of his sons which didn't look so bad.

!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] !!
my goodness, FFM was eating madape? That sounds much more horrific than pics of dead sons.

[Murphy3]

i also think that it's not in the best taste to show the pictures of the husseins...it could have been done in a bit more appropriate manner

[veruca salt]

Now there is the video footage of the bodies in the morgue. Totally out of order.
In Australia if they're going to show anything that graphic on the news they'll warn you that some
people might find the following images graphic and/or offensive.
Apparently Fox News doesn't think that's neccessary. I think it's something that my 2 year old
daughter could've done without seeing.