No leave for Iraq officers ahead of Saddam verdict

Iraq’s defence minister today cancelled leave for all army officers, apparently fearing violence after Sunday’s expected announcement of a verdict in the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Defence Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi was heard issuing the order in videotaped footage of a meeting between Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and senior military and security officials, in which Maliki upbraided them for failing to stop the capital’s unbridled violence.