US puts $25m bounty on Saddam Hussein

The US government has put a $25m (€21m) price on Saddam Hussein’s head and has offered $15m (€13m) for information leading to the capture of either of his sons.

With the uncertainty surrounding Saddam’s fate providing a rallying point for anti-US forces, the ousted dictator’s capture is seen as crucial to putting down a mushrooming uprising, which yesterday saw three Iraqis killed and at least 10 US soldiers wounded.

“We believe it is important to do everything we can to determine his whereabouts, whether he is alive or dead, in order to assist in stabilising the situation and letting the people of Baghdad be absolutely sure that he’s not coming back,” US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Washington.

The last reported sighting of Saddam was on April 9, a day before the capital fell, in the Azamiyah neighbourhood of north-eastern Baghdad. He was targeted by at least two major US air strikes but there was never any proof either was successful. Based on information from captured colleagues, officials increasingly believe they were not.

Saddam loyalists are reportedly warning Iraqis not to co-operate with American occupation authorities, saying the ousted leader will one day come back to punish those who do. The where-is-Saddam? mystery is encouraging the resistance, US officials say, as daily attacks against American troops continue.

At least 26 US troops have been killed in hostile fire since major combat was officially declared over on May 1.

The $25m (€21m) Saddam bounty will go to anyone who provides information leading to ex-dictator’s capture or proof that he is already dead. Anyone doing the same for either of his sons, Uday and Qusai, will get $15m (€13m).

Word of the reward is being sent to Iraq and the rest of the Arab world on Radio Sawa, a public diplomacy arm of the US State Department.

The reward for Saddam matches the $25m (€21m) that Washington is offering its other top fugitive: Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader missing since US forces helped dislodge the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.