Qaida Chief Named Saddam Hussein to Hang in Iraq

A local al-Qaida leader -- named Saddam Hussein -- was sentenced to hang by a court in the Shiite holy city of Karbala in southern Iraq on Tuesday, an official said.

"The criminal court of Karbala sentenced Saddam Hussein, the al-Qaida leader of (the village of) Khanafsa to death by hanging," said Mohammed Hamid al-Moussawi, chairman of Karbala's provincial council.

"Saddam Hussein was convicted of attacks on pilgrims with car bombs and bombs," he said. He was arrested in mid-April in Khanafsa, 30 kilometers north of Karbala.

Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims visit Karbala several times a year, notably for mourning ceremonies during the Shiite holy day of Ashoura. Attacks by Sunni insurgents against the Shiite pilgrims are common.

Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, was hanged in December 2006.