Bush hails death of sons as end of former regime

US president George W Bush yesterday hailed the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s two sons as the clearest sign yet that “the former regime is gone and will not be coming back.”

Mr Bush called Uday and Qusay Hussein, both killed on Tuesday during a firefight with US forces, “two of the regime’s chief henchmen ... responsible for torture, maiming and murder of countless Iraqis.”

“We have made progress, steady progress, in restoring hope in a nation beaten down by decades of tyranny,” said Mr Bush. He said that 19 nations were providing more than 13,000 troops “to help stabilise Iraq” and that additional help “will soon arrive.”