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2003-04-09 Iraq
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Brits think Saddam escaped attack
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British intelligence officials believe Saddam Hussein escaped America's devastating bomb attack on a building where the Iraqi leader was thought to be meeting. They say he may have left minutes before four 2,000lbs obliterated the restaurant in the al-Mansour district of Baghdad. The restaurant is reported to have housed an underground bunker system.
Rats. But it does give the people of Iraq another chance to settle Sammy's hash Mussolini style.
"We think he (Saddam) left the same he arrived in the area, either by a tunnel system of by car, we're not sure," one British intelligence official told The Times.
| It doesn't really matter. When the restaurant blew up, his regime blew up with it. He doesn't own Baghdad anymore. If there's any serious resistance, it'll be at Tikrit. And I don't expect to see much there. |
A US Air Force B-1 bomber dropped four huge bombs on the building on Monday afternoon following a tip-off Saddam and his sons were meeting with other regime leaders. Tip-offs from three separate sources said Saddam was at the al-Mansour site. US intelligence services informed Allied Central Command in Qatar and a US B-1B Lancer bomber, which was already in the air, was redirected to launch an attack. But US officials are reported to have said there is a "strong chance" Saddam and his sons were killed. US President George Bush said Saddam's fate remained unknown. "I don't know whether he survived," President Bush said after talks with Tony Blair in Belfast. "The only thing I know is that he's losing power. ... Saddam Hussein will be gone," Mr Bush added.
Saddam: dead or irrelevant.
The bombing left a 60ft crater and there were local reports of surrounding homes being destroyed and several civilian bodies being pulled from the rubble. Iraqi rescue workers said up to 14 civilians were killed, including a child. Members of the B-1 crew told reporters that they were patrolling the Iraqi capital when they were told about a high priority leadership target. The bomber arrived at the target just 12 minutes later. The first two bombs penetrated the building, then the other two - equipped with a delay fuse - penetrated further into the target. The man who may have killed Saddam, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Swan, weapons system officer on the bomber, described how he and his crew felt when the order came through. "We knew it was important and that it might be the big one," he said.
Establishing whether Saddam escaped - or sent a double to the meeting - may rest on DNA sampling. US authorities are rumoured to have already obtained samples of his DNA, or they could take samples from close relatives to identify his corpse. Iraqi authorities denied any leadership figures were hit in the attack.
"Lies! All lies! Hey, what's all that noise off-camera ..."
| Shortly thereafter they ceased denying or confirming much of anything. |
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Posted by Steve White 2003-04-09 01:29 am||
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Posted by Dixie Normus 2003-04-09 07:35:52||
2003-04-09 07:35:52||
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