War In Iraq - Official News Thread

[Saru]

U.S Bombs Target Saddam

U.S. forces have tried to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with a huge bomb strike in Baghdad, U.S. officials say as American tanks fight an intense battle with Iraqi soldiers in the heart of the city. US. aircraft dropped four 2,000 lb (900 kg) bombs on a building in a residential area on Monday after U.S. intelligence reports said the Iraqi leader and his sons Uday and Qusay might have been inside with other Iraqi leaders, U.S. officials said.

"A leadership target was hit very hard," Major Brad Bartlett, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command war headquarters in Qatar, said on Tuesday, the 20th day of the war. "Battle damage assessment is ongoing."

There was no word on the fate of Saddam or his sons.

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[Saru]

Saddam's Rule Comes To An End

U.S. troops have swept into the heart of Baghdad to an ecstatic welcome, as Saddam Hussein's 24-year rule crumbles into chaos and looting. As U.S. Marines rolled in from the east on day 21 of the war, hundreds of people gutted official buildings, hauling off anything from airconditioners to flowers.

"People, if you only knew what this man did to Iraq," yelled an old man standing in the road, thrashing at a torn portrait of Saddam with his shoe. "He killed our youth, he killed millions." There was no word on the fate of Saddam or his sons, targeted by U.S. planes that dropped four 2,000-pound (900-kg) bombs on a western residential area of the city on Monday. "It is not known whether Saddam and sons were present and whether they survived the attack," a CIA official said.

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[Saru]

US Troops Hunt Saddam

US troops are stepping up their search for Saddam Hussein after taking control of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.Marines searched a mosque near one of Saddam's palaces in the city centre after a firefight, possibly with Special Republican Guards. According to reports, the Marines believed the ousted ruler might be hiding inside.

The United States thought it had killed the former leader when it dropped four "bunker buster" bombs on a restaurant in west Baghdad on Monday. Saddam and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, were said to be having a meal there. The building was reduced to rubble - but according to British intelligence Saddam may have escaped minutes before the bombs hit their target.

There have since been reports Saddam has taken refuge in the Russian Embassy compound in Baghdad. But the Russians have dismissed the claims out of hand. "This type of statement is not in any way true," said foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko.

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[j6p]

Tunnels under Nuke Complex

[SpaceyKC]

Nice find, j6p.

I hope they find everything there,

and it gets lots of protection. Sounds

like the inspectors were led around like

they were tourists instead of inspectors.

[Saru]

Opinion Rising That Saddam Is Dead

The fate of Saddam Hussein is still unclear but U.S. officials have started leaning slightly toward the view that the Iraqi leader is probably dead, U.S. officials say. U.S. intelligence agencies have picked up communications or "chatter" by Iraqis on the periphery of Saddam's toppled government saying they believed he had died.

But officials caution that that by itself is not conclusive proof. Those Iraqis either know that Saddam is dead, believe he is dead but may be wrong, or are trying to feed disinformation to U.S. authorities knowing their communications are being monitored, officials said. "I'd say it's leaning slightly more to dead than alive," one U.S. official told Reuters on Friday.

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[Homer]

Baghdad Shocker Bares Russia-Saddam Spy Tie

Top-secret Iraqi intelligence documents found in Baghdad show that Russia funneled spy secrets to Saddam Hussein and that Moscow was still training Iraqi spies last fall, in violation of U.N. sanctions, reports say.

The captured documents also show that the Kremlin gave Saddam lists of assassins who could do "hits" in the West and that Iraq and Russia signed deals to share intelligence and help get "visas" so agents could go to Western countries, the London Telegraph reported.

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