Saddam's sons used Syria as refuge

WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- Washington officials say intelligence reports indicate Saddam Hussein's two sons repeatedly used Syria as a refuge during the war, USA Today said Thursday.

Both sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed by U.S. forces in a shoot-out in Mosul, about 70 miles from the Syrian border, July 22. Their whereabouts between the war's beginning in March and July were not exactly known, but there was speculation they had gone to Syria.

Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, denied his government allowed Saddam's sons into Syria, and said similar charges made in the past turned out to be wrong and "evaporated into thin air."

U.S. officials who did not want to be named said it was possible the two men crossed in and out of Syria several times before they were finally expelled, traveling with a small number of aides and bribing border guards to gain entry.

Saddam's first wife, Sajida, also fled to Syria and could still be there. Two of her daughters and their children have been given asylum in Jordan.