LONDON Ñ The Iraqi opposition believes that Saddam Hussein and his
two sons are still alive.
Opposition leaders said Saddam and his sons survived an attack on a
regime bunker in Baghdad earlier this month. They said witnesses saw them
leave the bunker as soon as the first U.S. bomb fell on a restaurant under
which the leadership meeting was held.
Since then, the opposition said, Saddam and his sons have been moving
around Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.
Opposition sources said they are believed to have left the
Iraqi capital, but one of his sons could have returned for a brief period.
"We have received information about his [Saddam] movements and the
movements of his sons," Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi said.
"We cannot locate Saddam so that we have a coincidence of time and position
simultaneously to locate him."
Chalabi told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the INC has been
tracking Saddam. But information of his whereabouts has arrived between 12
and 24 hours after each sighting. He said Saddam is moving around
Iraq.
"We are aware of his movements and we are aware of the areas that he has
been to, and we learn of this within 12 to 24 hours," Chalabi said. "We will
work to develop more information about his whereabouts."
Chalabi was the first to assert that Saddam and his sons survived an
April 7 bombing of the Baghdad bunker. U.S. officials said it could take
weeks until evidence amid the rubble from the B-1 aircraft bombing is
examined.
"If he [Saddam] is alive, he is probably hurting pretty bad," U.S.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said.
So far, two half brothers of Saddam and his son-in-law have been
captured. Saddam's son-in-law was identified as Jamal Mustafa Al Tikriti.
Al Tikriti surrendered to Chalabi after Saddam's son-in-law, rated 40 on the
U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, returned from neighboring Syria.
On Tuesday, reports continued to circulate of the discovery of Iraqi
weapons of mass destruction. The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite network
reported that Iraqi biological weapons warheads were found in the apartment
of a former senior Iraqi official in Baghdad. In a neighboring apartment, an
unmanned air vehicle was discovered.
South of Baghdad, coalition forces found what appeared to be chemical
weapons. The United States has not confirmed these findings, but said
components of CW have been captured.