Iraq's former leader Saddam Hussein, who terrorized a nation for nearly a quarter-century until he was deposed and captured by U.S. troops has been executed by hanging for crimes against humanity at an unspecified location in Baghdad, three Iraqi television networks reported.
Friday Senior Iraqi officials today dismissed suggestions from Washington that they would hang Saddam Hussein this weekend and said some in cabinet were pushing for the execution to be put off for a month or more.
The execution occurred at about 6 a.m. Baghdad time, the state-owned Al Iraqiya and two other stations reported.
"U.S. forces in Iraq are obviously at a high state of alert anytime because of the environment that they operate in and because of the current security situation," said spokesman Bryan Whitman.
A statement from the president issued by the White House Friday night acknowledged Saddam's execution, calling it "the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime."
"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, and be an ally in the War on Terror," the statement said.
Video footage of the execution is expected to be released as final proof of Saddam Hussein's demise although it is expected to stop short of showing the actual death.
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