The US military, through the provincial authority in Iraq, on Thursday released pictures of the bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of Saddam Hussein, two days after they were killed in a gunfight in a villa in the northern city of Mosul.

The American military has said US TOW missiles fired into the villa killed the brothers and a third man, believed to have been a bodyguard.

The military released the photographs to convince Iraqis that the brothers were dead.

CNN and two Arab satellite television networks widely viewed in Iraq immediately broadcast the photographs.

In one of the pictures, Uday is seen with his head shaved and with black marks on his face and head.

Qusay's purported image reveals wounds apparently received in the gunfight and missile attack.

The pictures were released on CD-ROM, which also includes x-rays said to show wounds Uday suffered in a 1996 assassination attempt.

Those X-rays helped confirm his identity, according to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US ground forces in Iraq.

Photos: US Government

Profiles: Uday | Qusay