Saddam's Body Flown To Home Village

The body of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been flown to his home village of Awja near Tikrit on board a US aircraft.

He will be buried at the same cemetery where his two sons are buried, reports said.

But his family said it wants to bury him in the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi in the west of Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging by Iraqi authorities on Saturday at a compound named Camp Justice in Baghdad. He was tried for committing crimes against humanity over the killing of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail in the 1980s by a court trained and advised by the Americans.

Saddam Hussein remained defiant till the final moment refusing to wear a hood during the execution. A Sunni cleric and a representative of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were present during the execution.

Saddam Hussein was captured by invading US forces three years ago.

Fresh attacks

Shortly after the execution, attacks in Baghdad and the southern Iraqi town of Kufa left 70 people dead.

US President George Bush speaking after the execution said: "Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq. But it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself."

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi expressed concern at the threat of fresh violence. I don't want to only express my personal reservations on the death penalty. I also wish to express my concern for a possible increase in tensions in the area. That is happening in the first hours following the execution. I hope that the situation won't get even worse in the future."

India pleaded clemency for Saddam and said it was disappointed at his execution.

Jubilation

The execution was greeted with jubilation by Iraq's Shias and the Kurds.

"As a Kurd, I like to see Saddam executed because he used chemical weapons and killed five thousands Kurds and killed my brothers and relatives with chemical weapons. I'm happy about the execution,” said Raouf Nuri.

A witness in the Dujail trial Ali Al-Haidariai said, "This day, the day of executing Saddam is a great day in the history of Iraq. It (the day of execution) will be the most painful lesson for the terrorists and Takfiris. The souls of the martyrs will be safe in heaven and the soul of Saddam will be in hell."

Former British ambassador to Iraq Sir Harold Walker adds, "I think the big moment was when he was arrested rather than now but this is the final psychological point following the arrest."

Saddam Hussein in a letter written from prison had described his death as a sacrifice for Iraq. (NDTV.com)
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