Editing Saddam Hussein (section)

=== Execution ===
{{Main|Execution of Saddam Hussein}}

Saddam was [[executed]] by [[hanging]] on the first day of [[Eid al-Adha|Eid ul-Adha]], 30 December 2006,<ref name="BBCexecution">{{cite news |date=30 December 2006 |title=Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6218485.stm}}</ref> despite his request to be executed by [[firing squad]], which he argued was the most appropriate method due to his role as commander-in-chief of the Iraqi military.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1228824,00.html |title= 'I Want a Firing Squad'| work= sky.com |publisher=Sky News |date=5 November 2006 |access-date=7 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011232542/http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0%2C%2C30000-1228824%2C00.html |archive-date=11 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The execution was carried out at [[Camp Justice (Iraq)|Camp Justice]], an Iraqi army base in Baghdad's [[Kadhimiya]] neighborhood.

Saudi Arabia condemned the Iraqi authorities for carrying out the execution on a holy day.<ref name=":15" /> A presenter from the Al-Ikhbariya television station officially stated: "There is a feeling of surprise and disapproval that the verdict has been applied during the holy months and the first days of Eid al-Adha. Leaders of Islamic countries should show respect for this blessed occasion ... not demean it."<ref name=":15">{{Cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/31/iraq.peterbeaumont|title=Frame by frame: last moments of a tyrant|last1=Temko|first1=Ned|date=31 December 2006 |work= The Observer|access-date=13 December 2017|last2=Beaumont|first2=Peter|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

Video of the execution was recorded on a mobile phone and his captors could be heard insulting Saddam.<ref name=":17" /> The execution video was leaked and widely circulated online within hours, sparking global controversy.<ref name=":17">{{cite news| url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070102/saddam-web-tv.htm |title=Saddam Execution Images Shown on TV, Web |last=Bauder |first=David |work=International Business Times |date=2 January 2007 |access-date=2 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205073754/http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070102/saddam-web-tv.htm |archive-date=5 February 2008}}</ref> It was later claimed by the head guard at the tomb where his remains lay that Saddam's body had been stabbed six times after the execution.<ref>{{cite news|last=Haynes|first=Deborah|author-link=Deborah Haynes|date=1 November 2008|title=Saddam Hussein's body was stabbed in the back, says guard|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saddam-husseins-body-was-stabbed-in-the-back-says-guard-3vmjfw7g2n6|access-date=1 November 2008}}</ref> Saddam's demeanor while being led to the gallows has been discussed by two witnesses, Iraqi Judge Munir Haddad and Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie.<ref name=":18" /> The accounts of the two witnesses are contradictory as Haddad describes Saddam as being strong in his final moments whereas al-Rubaie says Saddam was clearly afraid, but the common view is not of the latter.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/|title=Witness: Saddam Hussein argued with guards moments before death|publisher=CNN|language=en|access-date=13 December 2017|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326043428/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Not long before the execution, Saddam's lawyers released his last letter.<ref name="Hussein's last letter">{{Cite news |date=30 December 2006 |title=Saddam's final words |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20990518-5001021,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211160131/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20990518-5001021,00.html |archive-date=11 December 2008 |access-date=12 November 2008 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK}}</ref>

Saddam spoke his last words during the execution, "May God's blessings be upon Muhammad and his household. And may God hasten their appearance and curse their enemies."<ref name=":19" /> Then one of the crowd repeatedly said the name of the Iraqi Shiite cleric [[Muqtada al-Sadr]].<ref name=":19" /> Saddam laughed and later said, "Do you consider this manhood?"<ref name=":19" /> The crowd shouted, "go to Hell." Saddam replied, "To the hell that is Iraq!?"<ref name=":19" /> Again, one of the crowd asked those who shouted to keep quiet for God.<ref name=":19" /> Saddam started recitation of final Muslim prayers, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." One of the crowd shouted, "The tyrant [dictator] has collapsed!" Saddam said, "May God's blessings be upon Muhammad and his household (family)".<ref name=":19" /> He recited the shahada one and a half times, as while he was about to say 'Muhammad' on the second [[shahada]], the trapdoor opened, cutting him off mid-sentence. The rope broke his neck, killing him instantly.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/01/iraq.iraqtimeline|title=How Saddam died on the gallows|date=1 January 2007|website=The Guardian}}</ref> A second unofficial video, apparently showing Saddam's body on a trolley, emerged several days later. It sparked speculation that the execution was carried out incorrectly as Saddam had a gaping hole in his neck.<ref name="newvideo">{{cite news |last=Abdul-Zahra |first=Qassum |date=9 January 2007 |title=New Video of Saddam's Corpse on Internet |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010900258.html |access-date=9 January 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

Saddam was buried at his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, on 31 December 2006. He was buried {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} from his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein.<ref name="burial">{{Cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11669236 | title=Tribal chief: Saddam buried in native village |agency=Reuters | date=30 December 2006 | access-date=30 December 2006 }}</ref> His tomb was reported to have been destroyed in March 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31901568 |title=Iraq conflict: Saddam's tomb destroyed in Tikrit fighting |publisher=BBC |date=16 March 2015 |access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref> Before it was destroyed, a Sunni tribal group reportedly removed his body to a secret location, fearful of what might happen.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rasheed |first=Ahmed |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-saddam-idUSKBN0G61GM20140806 |title=Saddam's allies moved his corpse, fearful Shi'ite militias would harm it: tribal leader |work=Reuters |date=6 August 2014 |access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref>