Hussein Son Allegedly Shot in Baghdad

Opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein shot and wounded his younger son in an assassination attempt in Baghdad two weeks ago, the Iraqi National Congress opposition group said Wednesday.

A spokesman for the London-based group said Hussein’s 35-year-old son, Qusai, was shot in the arm as he drove in a convoy through the elite Mansour district of the Iraqi capital Aug. 1.

“There was an assassination attempt by a group belonging to the Iraqi patriotic opposition in Baghdad,” said the spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He did not identify the group.

Another Iraqi National Congress official, Entifad Quanar, of the group’s Washington office, said Qusai Hussein was shot by two men riding in an Oldsmobile who intercepted his convoy.

He said the assailants escaped but were later caught at a checkpoint in Baghdad and were killed by Iraqi forces.

There was no independent confirmation of the shooting. U.S. intelligence officials in Washington were skeptical of the report and said they had no information to verify the claim.

Qusai Hussein leads the elite Republican Guard. Last year, he was elected to the ruling Baath party’s leadership, boosting his chances of succeeding his father.