The commander of the coalition forces in Iraq says it has proof that Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in Tuesday's raid in northern Iraq. He says the coalition is considering how to convince skeptical Iraqis that both sons are dead.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez says there is conclusive evidence that Saddam Hussein's sons died in Mosul.
"We have positive identification and we in fact have Uday and Qusay," the general announced. "The identification was done through multiple means. We had senior former regime members do visual identification of the bodies. We have four individuals who independently verified that we had both of Saddam Hussein's sons."
General Sanchez says scars on Uday Hussein's body are consistent with those he suffered from an assassination attempt seven years ago. He adds that dental records for both men provide additional proof.
Yet, without pictures of the bodies, many Iraqis say they cannot completely believe the men are dead. The general says senior officials are considering exactly what to do to convince the Iraqi people that they are free from the brutality of Saddam's sons.
General Sanchez also announced the capture of the commander of Saddam's Special Republican Guard, Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid. He is a cousin of Saddam and is known as Number 11 on the coalition's most-wanted list. There are now 18 of the 55 most wanted former regime leaders still at large, including Saddam Hussein himself.
Lieutenant General Sanchez says the coalition is focused on finding him.
"The ultimate objective is Saddam Hussein and as I have stated before, we maintain the focus on all the high value targets and we will not fail," he said.
The coalition commander in Iraq says troops are continuing their search for evidence in Mosul, hoping to find clues about where Saddam Hussein is hiding.
General Sanchez declined to comment on an audiotape said to be the voice of Saddam Hussein broadcast Wednesday by the al-Arabiya satellite channel, saying he had not heard it yet. The tape was reportedly recorded two days before Saddam's sons died. It urges Iraqis to fight U.S. forces, saying the war is not over.
