Striving to convince fearfulIraqis that Saddam Hussein's sons are dead, US officialsshowed journalists two bodies today thatWashington says are those of Uday and Qusay. Unlike grisly, blood-spattered photographs published by USforces earlier, the faces had been retouched and shaved to makethem more closely resemble the brothers in life.
A US official said the aim was not to deceive. But Iraqis,brought up in a culture of conspiracy theory, were divided onthe identity of the resulting waxy corpses.
Washington underlined its confidence that the notoriousbrothers had been killed by saying it expected to pay the full$30 million reward to the Iraqi informant whose tip-off enabledthe US military to find Saddam's sons.
"We would expect to pay the whole reward," a senior USState Department official told reporters. Washington had put $15million rewards on each of their heads.
The net might be closing on Saddam himself, US forcessaid. Acting on a tip-off, they rounded up several men near theformer Iraqi president's home town of Tikrit suspected ofbelonging to his bodyguard unit.
"We continue to tighten the noose," said 4th InfantryDivision commander Major General Ray Odierno. Saddam has a $25million price on his head. The Americans hope that can loosentongues, as money seems to have done in the case of his sons.
Some 15 journalists saw the two bodies, almost naked andriddled with bullet and shrapnel wounds, laid out in a tentedmilitary mortuary. They did look like the two brothers, who UStroops said they killed at a villa in the northern Iraqi city ofMosul on Tuesday. A faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air.
The face of Uday (39) had been repaired. The US pictureshad shown wounds that officers said he suffered in the siege ofthe villa, where he and his younger brother went down fightingan overwhelming, rocket-firing US force.
"The two bodies have undergone facial reconstruction withmorticians' putty to make them resemble as closely as possiblethe faces of the brothers when they were alive," a US militaryofficial said. He called it standard practice, although suchpost-mortem work is frowned on by most Muslims
.It is not clear what will happen to the bodies. Muslimtradition demands they be buried quickly. It is possible theycould be discreetly handed to clan elders in Tikrit.
Washington says it has conclusive proof of the identitiesbased on dental and medical records, as well as visual testimonyfrom four senior aides to Saddam's family.
Officials said they matched the serial number on a plateimplanted in Uday's leg after a 1996 assassination attempt.
Qusay's beard, visible in the US photographs, had beenshaved but the moustache he normally wore had been left.
The gaping wound in Uday's face, visible in the pictures,was gone but a hole in the top of his head was still visible.
US officials said they had ruled out earlier speculationthat he might have shot himself in the head to avoid capture.