Voice of ‘Saddam Hussein’ denies ordering Najaf bombing

A TAPE recording purporting to be the voice of Saddam Hussein yesterday denied he was behind the deadly car bombing in the holy Iraqi Shiite city of Najaf.

Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera broke into programming to play the tape in which the deposed dictator denied his involvement in the Friday attack that killed at least 100 people, including revered Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim.

"Maybe many of you have heard the hiss of the snakes, the servants of the occupiers, how they accused us without any evidence of killing of al-Hakim," the voice said. Al-Jazeera did not broadcast the tape in its entirety. In the tape Saddam said he was the leader of all Iraqi people, suggesting he would not launch an attack on any particular ethnic or religious group Shiites included. "Saddam Hussein is not the leader of a minority or a group within a group. He is the leader of the great Iraqi people," the voice said. During his rule, Saddam drew most of his support from Sunni Muslims, a minority that oppressed the Shi'ite majority for decades.