Sons' deaths 'great' for Iraq

The Iraqi people are still short of basics like water

The deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons mark a "great day for the new Iraq," UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

Uday and Qusay Hussein, he said, had headed a regime "which was not just a security threat because of its weapons program but was responsible for the torture and killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis."

"This is a great day for the new Iraq... It is a very, very important move forward and I think it is great news."

I am not rejoicing - I mourn the death of anybody, but it has to be said it is a very great relief for all Iraqis Jack Straw

The two men are believed to have died on Tuesday in what the US military described as a "gun battle" at a villa in Mosul in northern Iraq.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Uday and Qusay had been "extremely unpleasant psychopaths" who could have saved their own lives.

"I am not rejoicing - I mourn the death of anybody, but it has to be said it is a very great relief for all Iraqis," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Uday and Qusay, along with his father, were given opportunities to remain alive that they never gave a lot of their victims."

Reign of terror

Mr Straw said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had reported that 290,000 Iraqis had disappeared over the last three decades.

"Saddam was the man principally responsible for that, but Uday and Qusay appeared to have been extremely unpleasant psychopaths who actually killed quite a number of people with their own hands, as well as in the latter decades of Saddam's rule, authorised and supervised the reign of terror."

They waged terror against their own people Michael Ancram Shadow foreign secretary Have your say: End of regime? Analysis: Huge effects of deaths Profile: Saddam's rival sons

Shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram, visiting Iraq, said the brothers' deaths would "lift a great weight" from the Iraqi people.

"These were two evil men. They waged terror against their own people and their continued existence kept terror in the hearts of the people of Iraq even after the war ended."

He said now only the discovery of Saddam Hussein was left "to complete the end of the reign of terror."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said the news would be a "hammer blow" to what remained of the former ruling elite.

'Evil men'

"Let us hope that it will assist the cause of stability within post-war Iraq, and give fresh hope to the vital need of humanitarian aid and infrastructure rebuilding."

Let us hope that it will assist the cause of stability within post-war Iraq Charles Kennedy, Lib Dem leader

Dr Hamid Al-Bayati, UK representative of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said the deaths were "great news".

Speaking on behalf of the council, part of the new governing body in Baghdad, Dr Al-Bayati said: "We think the allies are much closer now to finding Saddam himself...

"They were evil men. They killed a lot of people. Their own deaths are the right punishment."

Nada Hakki, a Faylee Kurd from Baghdad who lost her brother under Saddam's regime, said: "We have chopped off part of the snake but we still need the head - Saddam.

"This will help restore security in Baghdad - right now there is no security, the situation is appalling, you cannot guarantee your life will be safe if you go there.

"The sooner the Americans show they are in control the better, so the death of these Baathists helps."

Democratic government

Mr Straw said British and American coalition troops did not want to stay in Iraq "a day longer than is necessary" in order to secure a representative government and for the people to be able to look after their own security.

"We all want to move quickly. We all want to see the introduction almost for the first time of a democratic representative government in Iraq ..." he said.

"I can't and I don't want to give you a timescale."

The foreign secretary said he will be discussing these matters with one of the leading representatives of the governing council on Thursday.

He would also be considering an Amnesty International report alleging human rights violations, including torture, of prisoners being held by American forces, he added.