WASHINGTON, May 20: The US military confirmed on Friday that a photo of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in his underclothing, which a British tabloid published on its front page, was real and said it was ‘aggressively’ investigating how it could have been taken and by whom. Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman, said President Bush ‘has been briefed on that situation and he strongly supports the aggressive and thorough investigation that is already under way’.

“The president wants to get to the bottom of the investigation, it would be premature to make any sort of suggestions or speculation about the source or the motivation,” Mr Duffy said. The Sun newspaper said it obtained that and other photos from ‘US military sources’, adding it would publish more photos on Saturday.

Those sources, the Sun said, gave the pictures ‘in the hope of dealing a body blow to the resistance in Iraq’. The Sun’s front-page photo on Friday shows Saddam clad in only his underwear. Other photos inside the paper show Saddam washing clothing by hand and sleeping in bed.

The military said in a statement that an investigation was under way. “The source of those photos is unknown at this time. It is believed the photos were taken over a year ago,” the statement said. The military also said the pictures may have violated the Geneva Conventions and US military regulations on treatment of prisoners.

Saddam is being held by the US military at an undisclosed location. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all detainees,” the military said. “This lapse is being aggressively investigated to determine, if possible, who took the photos, and to ensure existing procedures and directives are complied with to prevent this from happening again.”

The Sun quoted one military source as saying that the photos show that ‘Saddam is not superman or God, he is just an aging and humble old man’. “It’s important that the people of Iraq see him like that to destroy the myth,” the source added. “Maybe that will kill a bit of the passion in the fanatics who still follow him.”

“It’s over, guys. The evil days of Saddam’s Baath Party are never coming back — and here’s the proof,” the source said.