Dental records as well as X-rays and visual identification by four former aides made US forces certain that they had killed Saddam Hussein's sons, the commander of US troops in Iraq said today.
Younger son Qusay's body provided a 100 per cent match with dental records and his brother Uday's a 90 per cent match due to damage to the teeth. X-ray records of Uday's injuries in a 1996 assassination attempt also bolstered the conclusion that the men died in a shootout with US troops yesterday.
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Their death has intensified efforts to find their father, who issued another audio tape message broadcast on an Arabic television channel. The message recorded two days before yesterday's capture urges increased attacks on American troops.
Later US forces said they had captured one of Saddam's most senior allies - number 11 on a list of Washington's 55 most wanted Iraqis.
The commander of US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, told a news conference he did not identify the person who was taken into custody by name, referring only to his number on the list. Barzan Abd Al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid Al-Tikriti, commander of the Special Republican Guard, is number 11 on lists previously provided by the US authorities.
Speaking about yesterday's battle in Mosul General Sanchez said Uday and Qusay were barricaded in the fortified second floor of their luxury hideaway and they opened up with AK-47 automatic rifles when American soldiers entered the house.
He said he believes the brothers were killed by 10 Tow missiles that were fired into the second floor from Humvees. "We did make an attempt to get a surrender," said General Ricardo. "What we got back was return fire".
The two other bodies removed from the villa were believed to be a bodyguard and Qusay's 14-year-old son Mustafa.
Some US troops expressed fears the deaths could spark more attacks against them. "If one of my sons was dead, I'd want somebody to pay for it," said Sgt Colin Frederick (23) as he patrolled the dangerous Sunni Triangle region.
Two American soldiers were killed in separate guerilla attacks in Iraq today - one by a roadside bomb not far from yesterday's assault on the brothers. They brought the US death toll to 155, eight more than in the 1991 Gulf War.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the deaths of the two "evil" sons of Saddam, saying that they helped lead a regime "responsible for the torture and killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis."
"This is a great day for the new Iraq," he added.
The capture was made possible by one Iraqi who is today possibly $30 million richer. The US offered that reward for the capture of the brothers - dead or alive. Mr Paul Bremer, the US administrator of Iraq, said in Washington that he looked forward to handing someone the cheque.
American commanders hope news of the deaths will bring them closer to catching the former dictator, and help blunt resistance to their forces occupying Iraq.
But Mr Bremer cautioned that "there will be some people who will be pretty unhappy that we killed these two guys."
Agencies