U.S. Officials: Saddam Seen on Gurney
March 21 -- U.S. intelligence sources say Saddam Hussein was seen being wheeled out of a Baghdad residential complex on a stretcher after the complex was struck in "decapitation attacks" by the United States.
Eyewitnesses saw the Iraqi leader being taken from the complex on a "gurney, with an oxygen mask over his face" Thursday morning (Wednesday night U.S. time), the officials told ABCNEWS.
Sources said there was clearly a U.S. observer nearby, watching the complex.
When asked today whether Saddam may have been injured in the attack, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said he wouldn't address rumors, but added ambiguously, "I don't know how Saddam Hussein is feeling today."
Three Critical Iraqi Leaders Believed Dead
Intelligence sources also said there has been a significant lack of communications between Saddam and his military structure since the airstrike.
They are optimistic that the attack injured Saddam, though they are cautious about the extent.
The U.S. officials believe that one or both of Saddam's sons were also in the complex when it was struck. The attack was "massive, catastrophic," the Washington Post's Bob Woodward told ABCNEWS.
Still, there are unconfirmed reports that Iraqi Sunni and other armed groups loyal to Saddam have been told that the Iraqi dictator is alive but communication with his son Odai has been lost and it is suspected that he died in the attacks. Intelligence officials told ABCNEWS they have no hard evidence that one of Saddam's sons was killed.
In addition, Iraq TV showed Saddam, his other son Qusai and Defense Minister Saddam Hashem Ahmed in a meeting. The person who read the news on air said they met today, but the claim is not independently confirmed. Later, a TV newscaster read new decrees by Saddam offering rewards to soldiers who shoot down coalition planes and missiles or kill or capture or coalition troops.
U.S. intelligence officials are confident other high-ranking leaders in Saddam's regime were killed. ABCNEWS' Brian Ross reported that U.S. intelligence believes three Iraqi officials — Taha Yasin Ramadan, Izatt Ibrahaim al Douri, and Ali Hassan Majid (also known as "Chemical Ali") — were killed in the attack. A CIA spokesman said officials had no information to confirm the report.
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