SNAPSHOT - Saddam Hussein executed
Source: Reuters
* Saddam Hussein was buried before dawn on Sunday in his native village of Awja, near Tikrit in northern Iraq, the head of his tribe said. * Saddam was hanged at dawn on Saturday for crimes against humanity after Iraq's prime minister rushed through an execution few believed would help stem the sectarian violence tearing the country apart. * "Saddam's execution puts an end to all the pathetic gambles on a return to dictatorship," said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who signed the order for the hanging. * U.S. President George W. Bush hailed the execution as a milestone for Iraqi democracy. * The European Union, which opposes capital punishment, condemned the execution, with one official calling it a barbaric act that could create an undeserved martyr. * Libya declared three days of mourning and cancelled public Eid holiday celebrations. Flags flew at half-mast. * Saddam's Baath Party exhorted Iraqis to "strike without mercy" at the U.S. occupiers and Shi'ite Iran to avenge his execution. * Egypt's Foreign Ministry expresses regret that authorities in Iraq went ahead with the execution, and for carrying it out on the first day of the Eid al-Adha feast. * At least 72 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks following Saddam's execution. * December became the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in two years. The U.S. military reported six more combat deaths raising the month's death toll to 109. * Pilgrims in Mecca expressed outrage that Iraqi authorities chose to execute Saddam on a major religious holiday. * Shi'ite Muslims, oppressed under Saddam, celebrated. * A curfew was imposed in Tikrit, Saddam's home town, where there were reports of sporadic clashes. Residents in Awja, the impoverished village where he was born, said Saddam was now a martyr in the fight against the U.S.-backed government. * State television aired film of Saddam, looking composed, as a masked hangman placed a noose around his neck on the indoor gallows. One channel later showed his body in a white shroud. * "They left him hanging for around 10 minutes before a doctor confirmed his death and they untied him and placed him in a white bodybag," said witness Sami al-Askari.
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