US President George W. Bush said Wednesday he didn't know how close the US forces are to capturing ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, but claimed that the deaths of Saddam's two sons marked progress.

"I don't know how close we are to getting Saddam Hussein," Bush said at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden. "Closer than we were yesterday, I guess. All I know is we're on the hunt."

He said the death of Uday and Qusay last week would help assure the Iraqi people that the Saddam regime was gone forever. The brothers were killed on July 22 by US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Since the killing of Uday and Qusay, US forces have intensified their search for Saddam. They have staged hundreds of raids and searches in villages near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq.

CIA officials said Wednesday their technical analysis of the latest audio tape purportedly from the missing Iraqi leader has found it was "highly likely" authentic.

On the audio tape, aired Tuesday by the Al Arabiya television based in Dubai, Saddam mourned the death of Uday and Qusay and vowed America would be defeated.

"Even if Saddam Hussein has 100 sons other than Uday and Qusay, Saddam Hussein would offer them the same path," said the voice identified as Saddam.

The tape was dated July 2003. US intelligence officials said several previous recordings were also authentic.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2003)