Reactions in Baghdad are mixed over news of the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay.
Celebratory gunfire crackled throughout Baghdad Tuesday night, but on Wednesday there were still some doubts on the streets of Iraq's capital about the fate of Saddam Hussein's notorious sons.
A number of Iraqis, including engineer Adel Sayed, told VOA that they want to believe Saddam's sons are really dead. But he said that without pictures of their corpses shown on television, the news of their deaths still seems unreal. Mr. Sayed said the only Iraqis who will mourn their passing are those Saddam supporters living in villages north and east of Baghdad and those who benefited from his regime.
A tiny woman clad in a black abbaya, Um Mohamed Latifa, busy buying groceries for her family, could not contain her joy over the news.
"Of course we are happy," she said, "those awful boys help to create the mass graves. Their government only served themselves," she added. "May their father share their same fate."
Latifa's neighbor, Nadia Sharif, also welcomed the news, but she said she still was concerned about the security situation in Iraq.
Another Baghdad resident, Dr. Rafik Al-Khalidi, expressed relief at the two deaths but also looked forward to the death of another Hussein. He warned that no Iraqi will breathe easy until Saddam Hussein is found and brought to ultimate justice.
