Although he had a lower public profile compared to his brother Uday, he was said to have had a key role in crushing opposition during the 1991 Iraqi uprisings.

Qusay was born in Baghdad in 1966 to Ba'athist revolutionary Saddam Hussein, who was in prison at the time, and his wife and cousin, Sajida Talfah.

Qusay reportedly played a role in crushing the Shia uprising in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War and is also thought to have masterminded the destruction of the southern marshes of Iraq.

The Iraqi government stated that the action was intended to produce usable farmland, though a number of outsiders believe the destruction was aimed at the Marsh Arabs as retribution for their participation in the 1991 uprising.

Despite his cunningness, Iraq's Defense minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed al-Tai claimed that Qusay “knew nothing [about commanding military].

We prepared information and advice for him, and he'd accept it or not.”[8] Hours before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Qusay withdrew approximately $1 billion from the central bank in Baghdad, acting on personal orders from Saddam.

They said to the smuggler: "A Syrian citizen will be waiting for a call from them and my mission is limited to bring them to the borders, not inside Syria."

The smuggler said, "They sought refuge with some of their acquaintances near the Rabia border center, and they already reached the outskirts of the city of Aleppo, and there, after replacing the broken tires of their car, the Syrian authorities, who ordered their return to Iraq, stopped them.

"[14] Abdul Halim Khaddam, the former vice-president of Syria, revealed that his country handed over the half-brother of Saddam Hussein to the American forces.

[16] Acting on a tip provided the previous day from Nawaf al-Zaidan, an alleged cousin and friend of Saddam Hussein who had been sheltering the four in his home for numerous weeks, a special forces team attempted to apprehend everyone in the house at the time.

After Task Force 121 members were wounded, the 3/327th Infantry surrounded and fired on the house with a TOW missile, Mk 19 grenade launcher, M2 machine guns and small arms.

Brigadier General Frank Helmick, the assistant commander of 101st Airborne, commented that all occupants of the house died during the gun battle before U.S. troops were able to enter.

[18] Brigade commander Colonel Joe Anderson said an Arabic announcement was made at 10 A.M. on the day and called on people inside to come out peacefully.

The armies of aggression mobilised all types of weapons of the ground forces against them and succeeded to harm them only when they used planes against the house where they were.

"[20]On 23 July 2003, the American command stated that it had conclusively identified two of the dead men as Saddam Hussein's sons from dental records.

The U.S. government also announced that the informant (possibly the owner of the villa, Nawaf al-Zaidan, in Mosul in which the brothers were killed) would receive the combined $30 million reward previously offered for their apprehension.