US officials believe Saddam died in April 7 attack
WASHINGTON, April 12: US intelligence has intercepted communications between former Iraqi leaders indicating that Saddam Hussein was killed during a US air strike on a Baghdad building on Monday (April 7) , US media said on Saturday.
But without hard proof, intelligence officials cited by The Washington Post and The New York Times refused to confirm Saddam’s death.
Those participating in the intercepted communications were not members of Mr Saddam’s inner circle, they said.
“They were telling each other they think he’s dead,” an official told the Washington Post. “We don’t know if they really know or not, or if they are trying to fool us.”
A B-1 bomber dropped four 900-kg “bunker-buster” bombs on Monday on a building in Baghdad where Saddam and his sons were thought to have been meeting with senior aides.
Officials also point to the rapid breakdown of the Iraqi government following the massive airstrike.
A senior intelligence official told The New York Times that in light of the new information, US authorities were “leaning more towards the idea that he is dead”.
In response to the media reports, a US official said : “No conclusions have been reached.”
“We have no hard evidence. We have no solid information that he is dead, but it cannot be ruled out,” said the official.
Both President George Bush and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday they lacked sufficient information to come to any conclusion about Saddam’s fate.
“I don’t know the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. I don’t know if he’s dead or alive. I do know he’s no longer in power,” Bush said.
“I have heard people talk about chatter,” Mr Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon media briefing.
“I ... have not personally seen enough intelligence from reliable sources ... that would enable me to walk up and say that I have conviction that he’s dead. I also lack conviction that he’s alive,” he said.
A defence official said as more time passes without any signs of Saddam, the more likely it was that he had died.
“The more time that passes, of course you lean that way, but he also has been known to hide for periods of time,” the official said.
To help US forces hunt for the top Iraqi leaders, the military will distribute a deck of cards with pictures of the most wanted. Senior Iraqi leaders appear to have vanished after US forces convincingly took Baghdad this week.
In the deck of cards, it was unclear why some Iraqi officials were given higher value than others, but Saddam was clearly the trump — pictured as the ace of spades.
“Clearly this is one game in which we will end up holding the ace of spades,” one defence official said.—AFP\Reuters
