A defiant Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn Saturday in a secret concrete death chamber here as the Muslim call to prayer echoed over the capital. Hussein and 14 Iraqi government representatives were flown by helicopter to the site, according to Iraqi High Tribunal Judge Munir Haddad.
Guards escorted Hussein into the room, where he denounced the West and Iran. Hussein then climbed the high ladder to the gallows. As his executioners placed a noose around his neck, Hussein blanched but betrayed no emotion, Haddad said. Hussein refused to wear a hood.
The charged silence that settled over the execution chamber was suddenly shattered by four guards, all apparent followers of militant Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr -- a man whose ruthless ambition and dark charisma rivals Hussein's, many Iraqis say. "Muqtada Sadr!" they cried out triumphantly. "Muqtada Sadr!"
Hussein scoffed. "The last word he said was 'Muqtada,'" said Haddad, who described Hussein's tone as condescendingly sarcastic. "And then he was hanged."...
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