LONDON Ñ Iraqi opposition sources report increasing tension within the ruling family of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. They said Saddam's older son Uday recently
killed a longtime colleague in a fit of rage.
The London-based Iraqi National Congress, regarded as the largest
umbrella opposition group and supported by the United States, also took credit for an assassination attempt on Qusay Hussein, the younger son of the
Iraqi president.
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the INC said the
assassination attempt took place on Aug. 1 in downtown Baghdad.
The latest assassination attempt was not confirmed by independent
sources.
The opposition group said an Oldsmobile automobile sped down Zeitoun St.
in Baghdad and one of its passengers opened fire on Qusay's car. The group
said Qusay was wounded in the arm.
The INC said the carload of attackers fled the scene but was later
killed when Iraqi security forces fired an RPG-7 [rocket-propelled grenade].
The fleeing vehicle exploded and no survivors were reported.
It was the second reported attempt on Qusay, regarded as the successor
of the Iraqi president. The first assassination attempt was said to have
taken place earlier this year when one of Qusay's eight cars was rigged with
a bomb and exploded.
The INC also reported that opposition forces bombed an Iraqi
parliamentary building in Baghdad last week. The group said nine security
officers were killed or injured in the Aug. 7 explosion.
