New video of Saddam body posted on Internet
Source: Reuters
(Updates sourcing, changes dateline from Dubai) BAGHDAD, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A new video was posted on the Internet apparently showing the body of Saddam Hussein lying on a hospital trolley with a wound in his neck after being hanged. The 27-second clip, the third illicit film to emerge since the former Iraqi president was executed for crimes against humanity on Dec. 30, showed a sheet being removed to reveal a smear of blood on Saddam's left cheek and a vivid red wound, 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, surrounded by beard on his throat. The footage, seen on Tuesday, showed his neck severely twisted. The throat wound may have been caused by the rope. The grainy film appeared to have been taken in a room lit by daylight. A man is heard addressing another familiarly as Abu Ali and urging him to hurry -- possibly because the people filming were aware of breaching regulations in doing so. The Iraqi government had released an official video showing a dignified Saddam refusing a hood as the noose was placed around his neck. It showed the executioner persuading Saddam to have the folded hood wrapped around his neck. It did not show the drop through the trap or Saddam dead. Shortly afterward on Jan. 30, a television station run by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite Dawa party showed a grainy clip of Saddam lying in a shroud. It was similar to the newest film but not clearly showing the neck wound. By the time Saddam was buried the following day, another piece of film, shot on a mobile phone, emerged on the Internet and Arab television stations showing the three minutes around the hanging. It showed Saddam and officials trading sectarian jibes and has prompted a government inquiry after it sparked widespread anger among Saddam's fellow minority Sunni Arabs. (Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi in Dubai)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
