Saddam 'may be dead' after air strike

Saddam Hussein's survival is in doubt after the US military's second bid at decapitating his regime shattered three buildings and left a 60ft deep crater in a Baghdad road.

Rescue workers said two bodies had been recovered from the rubble and that the death toll could be as high as 14. US officials said they had "good intelligence" the Iraqi president and his sons had been at the location.

Windows and doors as far as 300 yards from the blast site were damaged by shock waves after a B-1B bomber dropped four "bunker-busting" bombs on the al-Mansour neighbourhood yesterday at noon.

Next to the crater were a heap of concrete, mangled iron rods, orange trees ripped from their roots and shreds of furniture and clothes.

US officials said they had received a tip-off from three separate sources that Saddam and his sons Uday and Qusai were meeting at the site.

"A leadership target was hit very hard," said Marine Maj Brad Bartelt, a spokesman at US Central Command in Qatar. He said he could not comment on casualties or say how long it would take to determine the damage.

Battle assessment typically involves ground reconnaissance or satellite imagery, but Bartelt would not say what method was being used.

Residents standing around the rubble said shrapnel killed victims as far as 200 yards away in the neighbourhood of one and two storey houses.

One person said he had seen four bodies recovered and rescue workers said five more remained buried.

Those close to Saddam have said the Iraqi leader is so obsessed with security that very few people would know about his movements. He maintains dozens of residences and uses doubles to keep people guessing.

Most watched News videos