ВИФ2 NE

	От	bankir
	К	Часовщик
	Дата	22.07.2003 23:05:15
	Рубрики	Современность;

Вот оригинал сообщения Рейтерс

14:57 22Jul2003 RTRS-WRAPUP 8-Saddam's sons possibly killed in raid -US officials

(Writes through with new material)
By Miral Fahmy and Tabassum Zakaria
MOSUL, Iraq/WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay may have been killed in a battle with U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, U.S. officials said.
At a Mosul villa shattered by a four-hour barrage of U.S. rocket and machinegun fire, soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division told Reuters they had removed four charred bodies for identification.
In Washington, an official said two bodies bore a "strong resemblance" to the men many Iraqis learned to fear and hate as much as their father. Saddam is still thought to be on the run in Iraq three months after he was ousted by U.S.-led forces.
Uday, 39, Saddam's eldest son, was known throughout Iraq for his cruelty and playboy lifestyle. Qusay, born in 1966, was one of his father's most trusted lieutenants.
Widespread and sporadic gunfire crackled across Baghdad after dark as word spread that Saddam's sons may have been killed. The pattern of the shooting suggested it was celebratory rather than fighting.
The imposing, concrete villa belonged to a businessman with close ties to Saddam's family, neighbours said. There had been much speculation locally that the sons were hiding in the area.
Saddam himself was not believed to have been at the villa, U.S. officials said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said he could not confirm Saddam's sons had been killed. "(President George W. Bush) is aware of the reports and is aware of the military operation which took place earlier today," McClellan said.
BODIES "NOT IN BEST CONDITION"
"There is optimism within the ranks (that Uday and Qusay were killed)," said the official in Washington, but added that the bodies were not in the best condition flor identification.
U.S. officials have said they have DNA samples of Saddam and other leading figures of his regime.
"Individuals of very high interest to the coalition forces were hiding out in the building," Lieutenant-Colonel William Bishop of the 101st Airborne Division told Reuters in Mosul.
Mosul residents said shots were fired from the house as the troops took up positions and approached it in the morning sun.
Declining to comment on the identities of the dead, Major Trey Cate, spokesman for the division, said four "high-value targets" were found dead in the house. A fifth Iraqi also died in the fighting and at least five were hurt.
One U.S. soldier was wounded but was in a stable condition.
Success in tracking down Saddam's sons could bring welcome relief to Bush, who has been under pressure over a mounting death toll among his soldiers in guerrilla-style attacks that they blame on die-hard supporters of the former Iraqi leader.
A new ambush on Tuesday claimed the life of a sixth soldier in five days. A Sri Lankan Red Cross technician was killed in another incident.
Ordinary Iraqis have been grumbling ever more loudly about the failure of the occupying U.S. and British forces to restore basic services and hand power back to Iraqis.
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BOUNTIES
U.S. officials have said tracking down Saddam and his sons, who have multi-million dollar bounties on their heads, may help reassure Iraqis they can cooperate with Americans without fear.
There was delight among people in Baghdad as the news from Mosul filtered through to the capital, although many said they could not relax until they had proof the brothers were dead.
But at least one man voiced disappointment that Uday, who ran much of the Iraq's media and sport, might have been killed.
"I don't want him dead. I want to torture him first," said Alaa Hamed, who was a producer at Uday's television channel.
He said Uday had personally beaten him with electrical cables when he made mistakes.
As talk spread excitedly around Baghdad and Washington, soldiers in Mosul kept their lips sealed. Dozens ringed the villa, trying to disperse curious locals with loudspeaker appeals. A blue BMW car stood outside the house, undamaged.
U.S. forces have announced the capture of 34 of the 55 Iraqis on a most-wanted list of members of Saddam's regime.
The death on Tuesday of the 39th U.S. soldier to be killed by hostile fire since Bush declared major combat over on May 1 highlighted the pressure his forces are under. Bush said on Monday he would welcome military help from abroad.
But countries such as France, Germany and Russia, which opposed the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq, want a clearer U.N. mandate before getting involved in a messy situation which they had warned Washington could be the result from a war.
The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday met three delegates from Baghdad's new Iraqi Governing Council presenting a case for recognition. They were the first Baghdad delegates to go to the United Nations since Saddam was toppled.
But diplomats at the United Nations, scene of so much sharp diplomatic skirmishing over Iraq before U.S. bombs began falling on March 20, said the Governing Council would not be allowed to take up Baghdad's seat in New York for now.
The 25-member Governing Council was appointed by U.S. authorities in Baghdad nine days ago.
Adnan Pachachi, spokesman for the Iraqi delegation, told the Security Council: "The state intelligence services and mandatory arrests and random executions are done for once and for all.
"The people of Iraq have...tasted a sense of freedom that has been denied to them for so many decades."
((Writing by Alastair Macdonald, editing by Ralph Gowling))

For Related News, Double Click on one of these codes (TEST):
[G] [C] [D] [E] [M] [O] [T] [U] [MTL] [GRO] [SOF] [OIL] [UKI] [MD] [RNP] [DNP] [PGE] [EMK] [US] [NEWS] [WASH] [POL] [DIP] [VIO] [EMRG] [MEAST] [CRU] [PROD] [ENR] [IQ] [GB] [RU] [FR] [DE] [LEN] [RTRS]
Tuesday, 22 July 2003 14:57:54
RTRS [nL22637629] {EN}
ENDS