Hundreds visit tomb of Saddam on anniversary of his execution

HUNDREDS of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein as they tossed flowers on to his tomb one year after he was executed.

The muted one-year anniversary of Saddam’s death yesterday saw little violence, a far cry from the blood spilled on the day the former Iraqi leader was hanged and the horrific wave of killing that ensued until the surge of US troops six months later.

But there were a number of operations carried out by American and Iraqi forces. The US military said coalition forces killed six insurgents and detained another 14 on Saturday and yesterday during operations targeting al Qaida in Iraq in central and northern parts of the country.