(30 Dec 2006)
1. Iraqi military brandishing their weapons and dancing
2. Various of people celebrating Saddam's death and chanting anti-Saddam slogans
3. Various of people dancing
4. Banner congratulating the Iraqi people on Saddam's death
5. Various of people dancing
6. More of people celebrating
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Vox pop, Abdel-Hussein Mirbat:
''Saddam Hussein's execution is a joy for the Iraqi people. We have been oppressed for 35 years. Thanks to God we got rid of him (Saddam)."
8. Iraqis celebrating
STORYLINE:
Iraqis in the Shiite holy city of Najaf took to the streets on Saturday to celebrate the execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Saddam, who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a US-led invasion in 2003, was taken to the gallows and executed early on Saturday.
''Saddam Hussein's execution is a joy for the Iraqi people. We have been oppressed for 35 years. Thanks to God we got rid of him (Saddam)," said Najaf resident, Abdel-Hussein Mirbat.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three US presidents.
Despite his removal from power, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.
A US judge on Friday refused to stop Saddam's execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge.
The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from a town where assassins tried to kill the dictator in 1982.
Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.
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