Saddam to be buried in Ramadi, not in native village

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-31-2006 13:30

Updated News : Saddam buried in his native village of Uwja

Shortly after the hanging, the body of Saddam Hussein was taken to his hometown of Tikrit. His family says the former Iraqi president will be buried in Ramadi and not in his native village of Awja.

A statement from Saddam's family says the decision was based on private family reasons, as well as on security concerns in Iraq. It does not say when Saddam will be buried although it is Muslim practice to bury the dead within the day.

Ramadi is 110 kilometers west of Baghdad and close to Awja where he was born. Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, were buried in the family shrine at Awja after US troops killed them three and half years ago.

Saddam's defense lawyers say Saddam's body was flown in a US military aircraft to Tikrit. The chief of Saddam's Albu Nasir tribe, Ali al-Nida, received the body.

Earlier, Saddam's exiled daughter Raghd had asked for her father's body to be flown to Yemen for a temporary burial. And then later, transferred back to Iraq for a proper family ceremony.

An adviser to Iraq's Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, says the government wants Saddam to be buried in a secret location in Iraq. This, to prevent the site from becoming a place of pilgrimage for rebels.

Eye-witnesses say Saddam appeared very calm during the execution. He refused to wear a black facial mask, and didn't struggle or fight back during the process leading up to the execution.

Editor:Du Xiaodan