Update: It's official - Saddam's sons are dead.

"The two sons of fomer Iraqi president Saddam Hussein were killed today by U.S. troops in a firefight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Gen. Richard Sanchez announced this afternoon in a press briefing in Baghdad."

...Before the attack, U.S. troops from the Army's 101st Airborne Division had targeted the home in Mosul, which some wire reports said may have been owned by a Hussein relative. The target was chosen because of information from intelligence agencies who suspected high ranking members of Hussein's inner circle were there.

....U.S. officers told the Reuters news agency that as many as 200 U.S. soldiers had attacked the villa with machine guns and rockets during a four-hour battle.

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NBC just issued a breaking news alert saying that credible reports say that both of Saddam Hussein's sons were killed during the military's shootout Tuesday near Mosul. Reuters has more. Here's an update from USA Today .