Breaking News: Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
executed 2006-12-30
11:01:50
Breaking News: Saddam's half-brother, ex-judge
executed
Special Report: Execution of
Saddam
Special report: Tension escalates in
Iraq
TEHRAN, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Saturday that the execution of
former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein amounts to a "victory of the Iraqis",
while warning that his hanging could cause more insecurity in the violence-torn
country.
"With regard to Saddam's execution, it amounts to a victory of the Iraqi
people as they were the winners of his fall," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister
Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.
"Saddam's regime was overthrown because the Iraqi people did not support
him. It is crystal clear that the United States should not misinterpret his fall
and take the credit to itself," he said. Asefi also lashed out at the former
Iraqi president for launching consecutive wars on Iran and Kuwait in the 1980s
and early 1990s, saying his conducts had weakened the Arab and Islamic fronts.
"War on Iran led to a split in the Islamic world and serious problems with
respect to unity among Muslims," he said, adding that the war on Kuwait dealt
another blow on the Arab world and further deepened discord among Arabs.
"When the Arab and Islamic fronts were weakened, the Zionist regime took
the most advantage (of the situation). This left the Palestinians in the worst
situation," the Iranian deputy foreign minister said.
"On internal affairs, Saddam put massacre of Shiites on his agenda. In a
broader dimension, he masterminded plans for killing Kurds and sowing discord
between Shiites and Sunnis," Asefi said. But he also claimed that Saddam's case
was closed quickly in a bid to cover up Washington's support for the former
Iraqi regime in the 1980s.
"Saddam's case was closed soon. If the cases of wars on Iran and Kuwait had
been also examined, the U.S. alliance and role would have been disclosed," Asefi
said.
"So, Washington tried to end the case with the investigation into Saddam's
crimes in Dujail," he added.
The Iranian official also warned that Saddam's execution could lead to an
upsurge of insecurity in Iraq in the short term. "Arrest of Saddam escalated
insecurity. It is predictable that his execution will cause more insecurity for
a short period of time," Asefi was quoted as saying.
Just few hours after the Iraqi government executed Saddam by hanging early
Saturday, at least 30 people were killed and more than 45 others wounded when a
car bomb went off at a busy market in the Shiite city of Kufa in southern Iraq.
Related:
Saddam's execution draws mixed
reactions
BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The execution of former
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Saturday drew mixed reactions from governments
and organizations around the world.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang
said in Beijing Saturday that the Iraqi affairs should be decided by
the Iraqi people and China hopes Iraq can realize stability and development at
an early date. Full story>>
Chinese FM spokesman on execution of
Saddam Hussein
BEIJING,
Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here
Saturday that the Iraqi affairs should be decided by the Iraqi people.
Qin made the remarks when asked to comment on the
execution of Saddam Hussein. He said China hopes Iraq can realize stability and
development in an early date.
Saddam Hussein, born on April 28, 1937, was deposed
by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He was hanged on Saturday morning after he was handed
over to the Iraqi authorities for execution.
Bush hails execution of Saddam
Hussein
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George
W. Bush on Friday hailed the execution of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein as "an important milestone" on the road to building an Iraqi democracy.
"It is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming
a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the
war on terror," Bush said in a statement issued just about one hour after Saddam
was hanged in Baghdad, Iraq.
Saddam executed by
hanging
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Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
reacts in court during the Anfal genocide trial in Baghdad December 21,
2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Former Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging shortly before 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on
Saturday, U.S.-backed Iraqi TV Al Hurra reported.
"The execution of Saddam Hussein is complete," Iraq
state run Iraqiya television said.
But so far, there has been no confirmation from the
Iraqi government. Full story>>
Iraqi officials: Saddam executed
alone
BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Some Iraqi officials at
the scene said Saturday morning that only Saddam Hussein was executed at dawn,
denying earlier media reports that two Saddam's aides were also executed,
reported the state TV station Iraqiya.
Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, National Security Adviser, told
Iraqiya that the two co-defendants of Saddam, his half brother and intelligence
chief Barzan Hassan al-Tikriti and revolutionary court judge Awad Ahmed
al-Bandar, would be executed after the Eid al-Adha holiday, which ends on
Thursday. Full
story>>
