Probe on authenticity of Saddam’s leg

GERMAN investigators have launched a probe into claims part of a legendary statue of Saddam Hussein being offered by an internet auction house is a fake.

What is purportedly the left leg of the bronze statue, which was toppled by US troops in April last year in one of the most repeated images of the invasion of Iraq, is being auctioned by the Azubo.de website.

The site claims the leg was sold by British troops to a scrap metal dealer in the western German state of Lower Saxony who sold it on to its owner, identified on the website only by the pseudonym Paul9111.

The top bid for the leg, remounted on a concrete plinth, is running at 9,800 euros with offers due to close on Tuesday.

But, following a complaint from a rival internet auction website, the prosecutor’s office is trying to establish if the ‘piece of world history’ as it is dubbed on the site, is genuine.