Saddam's sons killed in raid

The US military said yesterday it had confirmed that the two sons of Saddam Hussein, Qusay and Uday, had been 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 earlier yesterday.

He said it was a six-hour operation that involved various military units including special forces.

"We had a walk-in last night that came in and gave us the information," Sanchez said, adding that they expected to pay the $15 million reward offered for information leading to the death or capture of each of Saddam's sons.

The US military was still working to identify two other bodies recovered from the villa after the battle, he said.

Four coalition soldiers were wounded in the operation and were being treated, he said.

Uday, 39, Saddam's eldest son, was famed and feared throughout Iraq for his cruelty and playboy lifestyle before the Iraqi president was ousted by US-led forces on April 9. Qusay, born in 1966, was one of his father's most trusted lieutenants.

US forces have been stepping up a hunt for the former Iraqi president, spurred on by guerrilla-style attacks on their ranks that they blame on his die-hard supporters. They put a $25 million reward on Saddam's head and $15 million for each son.

Another US soldier was killed yesterday, the sixth in five days, and the International Committee of the Red Cross said one of its staff was killed in a shooting south of Baghdad. Witnesses in Mosul said US soldiers were fired at by people inside the house as they approached.

"This morning we went to the building and surrounded it." Division spokesman Major Trey Cate said four "high-value targets" were found dead when soldiers went into the house after the battle.

A fifth Iraqi died in the fighting and at least five were hurt.

US officials say Saddam is probably still alive and hiding somewhere in Iraq. Audio tapes purported to have been made by Saddam have been given to Arab television networks, exhorting Iraqis to fight occupying US and British troops.