Saddam Hussein is dead. The former Iraqi leader was hanged in Baghdad this morning at dawn. Saddam clutched a Quran and refused a hood as he went to the gallows in handcuffs.
The hanging came 56 days after an Iraqi court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killing 148 Shiite Muslims in 1982.
Iraq's highest court rejected an appeal on Monday. A U.S. Federal Court rejected a last-minute appeal by Saddam's lawyers yesterday.
Also hanged were Saddam's half-brother and the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court.
Saddam's execution was photographed and videotaped.
U.S. forces are on high alert today for possible outbreaks of violence following Saddam's execution.
Early this morning a bomb exploded on a minibus in a fish market near Baghdad. The bombing killed at least 15 people, including women and children, and injured at least 25 more. It is not yet clear if the bombing is in reaction to Saddam's execution.
News of Saddam Hussein's execution is bringing mixed reaction in Iraq. In some areas, people cheered and fired guns into the air to celebrate the former dictator's death.
People in the Sunni-dominated Iraqi city of Tikrit are mourning the death of the former leader. A cleric at one mosque saying Hussein died the death of a holy warrior.