US, Britain Happy about Deaths of Saddam's Sons

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 23, 2003

US, Britain Happy about Deaths of Saddam's Sons

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The United States and Britain were on Tuesday pleased with the deaths of the two sons of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay, who the US military confirmed were killed earlier in the day by American troops in northern Iraq.

US President George W. Bush welcomed the deaths of Saddam's sons on Tuesday, saying it was "positive news," according to White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Bush described their demise as a "further assurance to the Iraqi people that the regime is gone and won't be back," said McClellan.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters during a visit to Hong Kong on Wednesday that the deaths of Uday and Qusay, in a fierce gun battle with US forces, marked a "great day for the new Iraq."

The deaths of Saddam's sons will be a fillip for Blair and Bushif it weakens armed resistance in Iraq and deflects attention from controversy over whether they exaggerated claims that Baghdad was developing weapons of mass destruction, analysts said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Tuesday also welcomed the deaths of Uday and Qusay.

"It goes without saying that we would much have preferred this. But the news that Saddam's sons are no longer a threat to the security of Iraq will be a reassurance to the Iraqi people," Straw said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

A British defense ministry spokesman said: "This (the deaths) shows the results of the continued pressure that the coalition is bringing to bear to root out the remaining elements of Saddam's regime."

Britain was the staunchest ally of the United States in the war against Iraq launched in March, which the two countries claimed was justified by Iraq's refusal to give up weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier, the commander of US ground forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, confirmed at a televised news conference that Uday and Qusay were among the four people killed in a US military raid on a building in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

"Four persons were killed during that operation and were removed from the building and we have since confirmed that Uday and Qusay Hussein are among the dead," said Sanchez.

The United States put both Uday and Qusay on the list of most wanted Iraqis, and offered a reward of 25 million US dollars for information leading to Saddam's capture and a bounty of 15 million dollars for each of Saddam's two sons.

Paul Bremer, the top US civil administrator for Iraq, exulted on Tuesday over the news that Uday and Qusay were confirmed killed in the major US military raid in northern Iraq.

"It's a great day for the Iraqi people and a great day for the American military, who once again showed their astounding professionalism in this operation," he said.

Bremer is in Washington to brief members of Congress and the US administration about the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, as critics continued to point to the rising death toll among US troops, and slower than expected progress in restoring normalcy there.

Underpinned by solid earnings from companies like Texas Instruments Inc. and spurred by the deaths of Saddam's two sons, US stocks rose on Tuesday.

The market took off in late morning on first reports before confirmation from the US military.

In another development, Germany's intelligence chief said in remarks released Tuesday that Iraqi Saddam and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden both appear to have survived US-led assaults in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Indications suggest that (Saddam) is still alive," August Hanning, the head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service was quoted as saying by the Muenchner Merkur newspaper.

But he provided no details of any German intelligence on Saddam's whereabouts.

Over the weekend, Bremer also said he believed that Saddam was still alive.

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