| Wednesday, January 17, 2007 |
| Barzan's decapitation angers Sunnis in Iraq |
The hanging of two of Saddam Hussein's aides Monday by the Iraqi government has further enraged the Sunni Muslims in the strife-torn country. What angered the Sunnis most was the decapitation of Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim's on the gallows.
Barzan Ibrahim's head was snapped off at the end of his fall through a trap door toward the execution chamber's floor 18 feet below. A government video screened for reporters showed Ibrahim's body passing the camera without its head.
Ibrahim and Hamed al-Bandar, leader of Saddam's Revolutionary Court, were hanged at 3 a.m. on Monday.
The video of the execution shown to reporters was muted as was the official video of Saddam's execution two weeks ago.
The pictures of the hanging of Saddam were broadcast by television networks worldwide. Ali al-Dabbagh, the government spokesman, said the video of Monday's hangings would not be made public.
A video of Saddam's execution, taken by a mobile phone camera and leaked to Arab television stations and internet websites, showed Shi'ite witnesses taunting Saddam in the last moments of his life. This scene drew worldwide protests.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that the executions were mishandled and she hoped those responsible for the mobile phone videos of Saddam's execution would be punished.
Late on Monday, about 3,000 enraged Sunnis assembled in Ouja for the burial of Ibrahim, who also served as Saddam's intelligence chief, and al-Bandar. The town of Ouja is just outside Tikrit, Saddam's power base near the Tigris river, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
Saddam, Ibrahim and al-Bandar were found guilty of crimes against humanity for having killled 148 Shi'ites after an assassination attempt against Saddam in Dujail in 1982.Labels: iraq |
| posted by a correspondent @ 10:21 AM |
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