Iraq executes Saddam bodyguard

Saddam Hussein’s trusted personal secretary and bodyguard was executed by hanging today, the Iraqi justice ministry said.

Abed Hamid Hmoud was the latest in a series of former senior regime officials who have been executed by Iraq’s new rulers since the toppling of Saddam during a US-led invasion in 2003.

Hmoud was among 15 high-profile defendants who were tried for their role in the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.

The last execution of a former regime official took place in January 2010 when Saddam’s notorious cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali”, was hanged.