U.S. officials tell CNN there was a “leadership strike” in Baghdad with a large amount of ordnance hitting a residence where Saddam Hussein may have been. Condition of Saddam is unknown. Details soon.
.S. Central Command said that at 3 p.m. Monday [7 a.m. EST], a B-1 bomber dropped four 2,000-pound bombs equipped with JDAM guidance systems.
Central Command said the target, a building in the Mansour neighborhood, was destroyed. Before Central Command confirmed the strike, CNN sources said a blast in the neighborhood killed nine people and wounded 13 others. A restaurant and apartments were also reported destroyed.
U.S. officials said they don’t know who they might have killed in the attack, but they said they believed that the intelligence # which U.S. officials received Monday # was very good. Part of it came from informants.
A senior administration official in Washington said the strike was “very much the same” as the initial “decapitation attack” that began the war and was aimed at Saddam, his two sons and other top government officials.
The official said there was a sense of optimism that top Iraqi figures, perhaps including Saddam and one or both of his sons, were in the building. The official declined to be more specific.