Saddam's sons may have been captured

A US official has said that one or both of Saddam Hussein’s sons may have been captured by US troops.

US troops captured the "high interest" Iraqis when they raided a house in the northern city of Mosul where it was believed Saddam’s two sons were hiding.

A major gun battle broke out when American soldiers surrounded the house owned by a cousin of Saddam who is a key tribal leader in the region.

An APTN cameraman in Mosul, 280 miles north of Baghdad, said residents told him the Americans were at the house looking for Uday and Qusay.

Four Iraqis were killed in the US raid.

Officials said they were investigating whether the two sons were among the dead.

The raid sparked a shoot-out between members of the 101st Airborne Division and gunmen holed up inside the compound, which later burned to the ground, officials said.