Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday were killed Tuesday in a firefight with U.S. troops in Mosul, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq said.
Uday, 39, and Qusay, 37 -- key members of Saddam's regime -- were among four people killed during a dramatic four-hour battle in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
"We're certain that Uday and Qusay were killed," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said in Baghdad. "We've used multiple sources to identify the individuals."
Intelligence reports had indicated Uday and Qusay, who have $15 million bounties each on their heads, were in the Mosul area, and the official added: "We didn't just stumble across them."
A special military task force formed to hunt for Saddam and his top supporters led the raid, supported by extensive armor and air cover, officials said.
Two-hundred members of the 101st Airborne Division also joined the assault, and no one was captured, a U.S. official told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
The military went in and engaged in a "big firefight," the official said.
The two bodies have a "strong resemblance" to Saddam's sons, a senior U.S. official said. The bodies will be flown to the United States for DNA testing at the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, the official said.
A senior Pentagon official said one of the other two bodies appeared to be that of a teenage boy. U.S. officials noted that Qusay has a teenage son. The other body recovered appeared to be that of a bodyguard.
A U.S. official said Saddam was not among them.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld briefed President Bush about the Mosul operation after it was over, a senior defense official said.
"Part of the reason he discussed this operation in particular was because he knew it would get a lot of attention, and that first reports are often wrong," the official said.
The initial White House reaction was cautious, although one official said confirmation that the two sons were killed would "brighten" spirits after recent criticism that the Bush administration exaggerated the former Iraqi regime's threat.
Both in deck of cards
Saddam and his sons have been fugitives since their government collapsed after a U.S.-led invasion in March.
Mosul is a Kurd-controlled city about 110 miles (176 kilometers) from both Syria and Iran. Should the bodies prove to be Saddam's sons, intelligence officials said they are looking at the possibility that Uday and Qusay were attempting to find a way out of Iraq.
U.S. officials have said they need to capture the former ruling family to break resistance to U.S. forces and encourage cooperation by Iraqis fearful that Saddam could return to power.
Retired Army Brig. Gen. David Grange said that the deaths of Uday and Qusay would deal a psychological blow to Saddam loyalists attacking U.S. troops.
The hunt for Saddam in Iraq is led by a U.S. Special Operations team -- code-named Task Force 20 -- with support from the CIA. The task force, which also took part in the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, includes covert Special Forces from the various U.S. military services.
Qusay and Uday are the second- and third-most wanted Iraqi leaders, and both are in the playing card deck of most-wanted Iraqis issued to U.S. troops in Iraq. Uday is the ace of hearts and Qusay the ace of clubs.
Qusay has been the son widely perceived as most likely to succeed Saddam.
