Anatomy of the raid on Hussein's sons
A sleek Mercedes- Benz stood in the underground garage along with a pool of blood. A panoply of rifles and pistols lay strewn in the three-story mansion in Mosul where Saddam Hussein's two sons and associates held out during a desperate, four-hour firefight on Tuesday.
In the end, it took almost all the firepower the Army could muster - TOW missiles, Kiowa helicopter rockets, and Mark-19 grenade launchers - to punch through the fortress-like inner walls of the villa and kill Uday Hussein and his brother, Qusay, according to US soldiers who took part in the fight. Two other Iraqis, not yet identified, were also killed, and four Americans took gunshot wounds. A government official told the Monitor that one of the slain Iraqis was Qusay's teenaged son.
The gun battle was followed by a tense calm Wednesday in Mosul, where graffiti painted in red on earthen brick walls declares "Down with America" and "God, Country, Saddam." US soldiers and Iraqi trainees armed with wooden baseball bats secured the gutted house behind a ring of concertina wire, as military investigators combed the premises.
Some residents of this northern Iraqi city of 2 million, home to many former high-ranking Iraqi military officers, say they aren't convinced the Hussein heirs are dead. Others mourned a young man they say was killed when a US soldier opened fire on a small group of protesters during the assault, a claim American commanders dispute. Still others believe and welcome the news, saying Uday and Qusay's fate should stand as a warning to future Iraqi leaders.
For their part, US soldiers voiced pride in a successful mission, but also expressed concern that the sons' demise could lead to revenge attacks on American troops. "I think it's a great thing that happened, but the consequences could go either way - good or bad," says Spc. Tyler Springstead of the 101st Airborne Division.
"If they revolt, they revolt," says Pfc. Patrick Mullen, who stood guard all night and all day outside the charred and hollow villa. Some Iraqis may try to make martyrs of the sons, says another soldier.
The dramatic assault, triggered by a tip from an informant on Monday, began at about 9:00 a.m. Tuesday.
Elite soldiers of Task Force 20, including the Army's Delta Force operatives, swiftly moved into assault positions while infantry from the 101st Airborne division set up a cordon around the villa to stop anyone from escaping.
About 10 a.m., American forces issued a demand for surrender through a bullhorn. But that was immediately answered by a barrage of machine-gun fire from inside the house. At that point, "things just went ballistic," said one participant. "Those guys put up a massive fight."
Using C-4 explosives, Task Force 20 members stormed through the iron front gate - the only viable entrance to the walled compound, participants said. From there, some began clearing the first floor, while others climbed back stairs and crossed the roof for other entry points.
Inside, however, the Delta troops were unable to break through inner walls of reinforced concrete where Uday, Qusay, and other defenders were holed up. Eventually, they pulled back, and the 101st pummeled the structure with multiple barrages of TOW wire-guided missiles, fire from Mark 19 grenade launchers, and Humvee-mounted .50-caliber machine guns, as well as 2.75-inch rockets from Kiowa helicopters.
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