2003 - Two sons of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain, Uday and Qusay Hussain, were killed in a United States raid in northern Iraq, US intelligence officials said. US media reported that 200 troops from the 101st Airborne targeted a compound in the Mosul area where several top Iraqi officials were believed to be holed up. In Mosul, relatives of the compound’s owner, Nawaf Al Zaidan, also said the two Hussains were among the dead. Residents of the area said US helicopters fired more than 20 missiles at the house after clashes broke out when US forces tried to go in and arrest those inside.
Other important events
1933 - American aviator Wiley Post completes the first solo flight around the world in seven days and 18-and-a-half hours.
1950 - King Leopold III returns to Belgium after six years in exile, but abdicates in August.
1952 - Poland adopts Communist-imposed constitution.
1960 - US-owned sugar factories in Cuba are nationalised.
1962 - Algeria declares independence following protracted war of secession with France.
1971 - Last US infantry units pull out of South Vietnam’s northern border area.
1977 - China’s Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.
1987 - The first meeting of the Sharjah Executive Council is inaugurated.
1998 - Iran tests a medium-range missile capable of reaching Israel and Saudi Arabia.
2008 - The UAE and Oman sign a final border demarcation treaty.
2011 - A Norwegian gunman in police uniform guns down 92 people at a youth camp in Utoeya island, Norway.
