Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.
Family Qusay's older brother Uday Saddam was viewed
as Saddam's heir until he sustained serious injuries in a 1996 assassination attempt.
Unlike Uday, who was known for extravagance and erratic, violent behavior, Qusay Saddam
kept a low profile.
He was married to Sahar Maher Abd al-Rashid; the daughter of Maher Abd al-Rashid, a top
ranking military official, and had three sons; One of the sons, Mustapha Qusay, was killed
alongside his father in the shootout with U.S. troops.
The other two: Yahya Qusay and Yaqub Qusay are presumed alive, but their whereabouts
are unknown.
Before the 2003 invasion Unlike other members of his family and the
government, little information is known about Qusay, politically or personally.
It is believed that until the 2003 Invasion of Iraq Qusay was the supervisor of the Iraqi
Republican Guard and the head of internal security forces), and had authority over other
Iraqi military units.
Qusay played a role in crushing the Shiite uprising in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf
War and is also thought to have masterminded the destruction of the southern marshes of
Iraq.
The wholesale destruction of these marshes ended a centuries-old way of life that prevailed
among the Shiite Marsh Arabs who made the wetlands their home, and ruined the habitat
for dozens of species of migratory birds.
The Iraqi government stated that the action was intended to produce usable farmland, though
a number of outsiders believe the destruction was aimed against the Marsh Arabs as retribution
for their participation in the 1991 uprising.
Iraqi dissidents claim that Qusay was responsible for the killing of many political activists.
The Sunday Times reported that Qusay ordered the killing of Khalis Mohsen al-Tikriti, an
engineer at the military industrialization organization, because he believed Mohsen was
planning to leave Iraq.
In 1998, Iraqi opposition groups accused Qusay of ordering the execution of thousands of
political prisoners after hundreds of inmates were similarly executed to make room for new
prisoners in crowded jails.
Death
On the afternoon of 22 July 2003, troops of the 101st Airborne 3/327th Infantry HQ and
C-Company, aided by U.S. Special Forces killed Qusay, his 14-year-old son Mustapha, and his
older brother Uday, during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Acting on a tip from a cousin of Uday and Qusay, a special forces team attempted to
apprehend the inhabitants of the house.
After being fired on, the special forces moved back and called for backup.
As little as 40 101st Soldiers and 8 Task Force 121 operators were on the scene.
After Task Force 121 members took superficial wounds to their arm and calf the 3/327th Infantry
surrounded and fired on the house with a TOW missile, Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher,
M2 50 Caliber Machine guns and small arms.
After about four hours of battle, the soldiers entered the house and found four dead, including
the two brothers and their bodyguard.
There were reports that Qusay's 14-year-old son Mustapha was the fourth body found.
Brig. Gen. Frank Helmick, the assistant commander of 101st Airborne, commented that all occupants
of the house died during the fierce gun battle before U.S. troops entered.
On 23 July 2003, the American command said that it had conclusively identified two of
the dead men as Saddam Hussein's sons from dental records.
Because many Iraqis were skeptical of news of the deaths, the U.S. Government released
photos of the corpses and allowed Iraq's governing council to identify the bodies despite the
U.S. objection to the publication of American corpses on Arab television.
They also announced that the informant, possibly the owner of the house, would receive the
combined $30 million reward on the pair.
Qusay was the ace of clubs in the coalition forces' most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.
His father was the ace of spades and his brother was the ace of hearts.
That night, and several nights following Uday and Qusay Hussein's death, celebratory gunfire
could be heard throughout Baghdad.
Dozens of citizens were injured from bullets coming down.
References
External links Gulf News: Qusay given key role in war plans,
17 March 2003 GlobalSecurity.org: Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti
BBC News: Saddam's rival sons, 10 September 2002
BBC News: Saddam's hated sons, 23 July 2003