General Tommy Franks says Iraq rulers dead or fleeing

US General Tommy Franks, commander of US forces in Iraq, said on Friday the leadership of the regime in Iraq was either dead or on the run.

General Franks was speaking to reporters on a visit to US troops at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where American and allied forces continue to track down fugitives from the Taliban regime and the Al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

Asked about the fate of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, General Franks said: "You could easily have asked me about any particular personality and all of you, because you know me, would guess the answer -- they are either dead or running like hell."

"That is the case with the leadership of the regime inside Iraq," he said.