Iraq executes close aide of former president Saddam | WPN World People News

One of Saddam Hussein's closest aides, his personal secretary Abed Hamid Mahmud, was executed by hanging on Thursday for genocide, the Iraqi Justice Minister, Haidar al-Saadi, said.

Mahmud, who was once No. 4 on the U.S. most-wanted list in Iraq, was regarded by many Iraqis as more influential than most ministers.

"He was executed today," Saadi said. "The ministry of justice implemented the execution sentence against the criminal Abed Hamid.. for genocide."

Mahmud, in his 50s, is the fifth official of Saddam Hussein to be executed in Iraq after the dictator's execution in 2006.

He had been sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of orchestrating a crackdown against rival political parties in Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s, including assassinations and unlawful detentions of Iraqi Shia Muslims.

Mahmud, who belonged to the same village as Saddam Hussein, was a distant cousin. He was captured by U.S. forces in June 2003, three months after the invasion.

Mahmud controlled access to the president and was always seen at his side.

He is said to have handed down many of the regime's repressive orders.

He was No. 4 on the list of most-wanted officials in Iraq, after Saddam and his sons Qusai and Odai. He was known as the "ace of diamonds" on the U.S. deck of cards.

The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime. Saddam was hanged in December 2006 after being found guilty of crimes against humanity.

Source: Iraq News.Net