Saddam's sons die in Mosul firefight

Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay were killed in a six-hour firefight when U.S. forces surrounded and then stormed a palatial villa in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul, a senior American general said.

"We are certain that Uday and Qusay were killed today," said Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez at a news conference in Baghdad.

"They died in a fierce gunbattle," Sanchez added.

He told reporters that soldiers from the US Army's 101st Airborne Division were working on a tip from an Iraqi informant that the sons were in the house.

When US troops approached the building, gunmen inside opened fire with small arms. The "suspects barricaded themselves in the house" and "resisted fiercely," he said.

Lt Gen Sanchez said US military forces swept into action against the mansion in the al-Falah neighbourhood in the north of Mosul after receiving a tip from a resident in the city last night.

The commander said Saddam's son's barricaded themselves inside and put up fierce resistance. A witness said Kiowa helicopters armed with missiles then attacked the house.

"They died in a fierce gun battle," Sanchez said.

He promised a detailed briefing on the operation tomorrow.

"The bodies were in such a condition where you could identify them," he said. The identities of the other two dead were not known, he added.

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