A top aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the government has launched an inquiry into the conduct of the execution of Saddam Hussein and how it was secretly filmed and distributed.
The official execution tape, which had no sound, showed the former dictator being led to the gallows but not his actual hanging. However, video captured on a mobile phone camera showed footage and sound of Saddam being taunted and then dropping to his death.
In the mobile phone footage, one person can be heard shouting "Moqtada," the name of a radical Shi'ite cleric and opponent of Saddam.
The unauthorized video has caused anger among many Saddam supporters, who say it shows that the execution was a sectarian act against the deposed Sunni Arab leader.
Tuesday, Sunni Arab mourners in Saddam's hometown Tikrit and other cities marched to pay their respects to the former dictator.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
