posted on April 7, 2003 07:31:45 PM new
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Monday bombed a target in Baghdad where Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) may have been inside, a U.S. official said.
"There was intelligence that came in this morning which suggested that there was a gathering of Iraqi intelligence officials and possibly including Saddam and both of his sons in a residential district of Baghdad," the official told Reuters.
The information was passed to Central Command which authorized aircraft in the area to bomb the site.
There was no confirmation yet that Saddam or his sons were killed in the strike, the official said.
CNN reported that the building targeted in the bombing was completely destroyed.
Another U.S. official told Reuters U.S. forces struck "leadership targets of opportunity" in Baghdad, but declined to say who was the target or whether Saddam and his two sons were believed dead or alive.
The fate of Saddam and those of his sons, Qusay and Uday, have been the subject of intense speculation since they were targeted in an initial U.S. strike on March 19 on a residential compound on the outskirts of Baghdad.
That initial bombing started the U.S.-led war against Iraq. A man believed to be Saddam has been seen on videotapes aired on Iraqi television since that first strike but it has been unclear when those tapes were made, shedding little light on whether the Iraqi president had survived that first strike.
posted on April 7, 2003 07:36:55 PM new
Great! If they're dead, then the Iraqi's are liberated and the war can end, right? I can't wait to hear what that Iraqi spokesman says neon.
posted on April 7, 2003 07:38:51 PM new
The war will end, but then the really hard part starts... keeping those Ingrates out while we and others rebuild...
posted on April 7, 2003 07:39:52 PM new
ROFL Krafty! That should be a classic. Maybe he'll pull out his Saddam Hand puppet to give credence to his claim. Then in the morning the Iraqi UN embassador can atest to Saddams health because well, we just saw him last night with good ole Bagdahd Bob.
posted on April 7, 2003 08:14:30 PM new
I hope you're right Twelvepole.
I hope someone out there has taped his appearances neon. I'd even pay for an audio version. What a blockhead! That's great - a Saddam puppet... "see everyone, he's alive!... look at him.... he's ruling as we speak."
posted on April 7, 2003 09:02:17 PM new
A little more info.......
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Monday bombed a building in Baghdad after intelligence reports that President Saddam Hussein and his two sons may have been inside, but it was unclear if they were killed or injured, U.S. officials said.
The building was destroyed, which might make it difficult to prove who was killed inside, sources said.
"We are confirming that a leadership target was hit very hard," Maj. Brad Bartlett, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command war headquarters in Qatar, told reporters. "Battle damage assessment is ongoing."
He said a U.S. B-1 bomber using four 2,000-pound bombs hit the target in the Baghdad district of Mansur on Monday afternoon Iraqi time.
"There was intelligence that came in this morning which suggested that there was a gathering of Iraqi intelligence officials and possibly including Saddam and both of his sons in a residential district of Baghdad," a U.S. official told Reuters.
The information was passed to Central Command, which authorized aircraft in the area to bomb the site. There was no confirmation yet that Saddam or his sons were killed in the strike, but anyone inside was not likely to have survived, the official said.
"It's a hole in the ground," the official said. "It might be difficult to prove (who was killed), but a lot of effort will go into determining it."
The Mansur neighborhood is a stronghold of Saddam's Baath Party, and security and military intelligence headquarters are located in the area, and the district is also home to many military officers.
Two houses were flattened and four other buildings were badly damaged in the air raid on Monday that witnesses said killed nine Iraqis and wounded four others.
A security guard said people were buried under the rubble and he said one missile gouged a crater 30 feet deep and 50 feet wide in the road.
posted on April 8, 2003 06:01:21 PM new
The only problem with dropping four bunker busters on his supposed location is that we may never know for sure if he was there. I was really hoping we could somehow capture him or get a clean kill. Just like with Osama.
posted on April 8, 2003 06:07:19 PM new
According to reports today, the building in question was a restaurant. I think the concept of a bunker under a restaurant is taking the reservd table concept to extremes
