Iraq: CIA Says New Hussein Tape Likely To Be Genuine
Washington, 30 July 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Analysts of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have concluded that there is a "high likelihood" that a newly released audiotape purporting to carry the voice of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is genuine.
The tape was aired on 29 July by Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite television and then by other channels. On it, the voice alleged to be Hussein's eulogized his sons Uday and Qusay and a grandson, Mustafa, who were killed in a U.S. assault on a house in Mosul last week.
A CIA official told reporters in Washington that the agency has completed its technical analysis. He said "there is a high likelihood" that the tape bears the voice of Saddam Hussein.
In Baghdad, the U.S. Central Command said American forces in Iraq had arrested 559 people in a 24-hour period ending today, as part of efforts to capture Hussein.
Copyright (c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
