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John Prescott has described leaked video footage of Saddam Hussein just before he was executed as "deplorable". Speaking on the Today programme, the deputy prime minister said whoever carried it out should be "condemned".

Iraq investigates Saddam footage

Saddam Hussein was taunted and insulted in his last moments which was shown world wide on mobile phone footage...

The Iraqi government has launched an inquiry into unofficial mobile phone footage showing the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The mobile phone footage showed he exchanged taunts and insults with witnesses at his hanging on Saturday. The grainy video showed the former leader being told to "go to hell" by someone attending the hanging. UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the circumstances of the execution were "deplorable". Do you consider this bravery? Saddam Hussein, on new video.

 The Iraqi authorities fear the footage, released on the internet hours after the execution, could contribute to a dramatic rise in sectarian tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities. "There were a few guards who shouted slogans that were inappropriate and that's now the subject of a government investigation," an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, Sami al-Askari, told Reuters news agency.

 Chants and insults

Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. He was executed before dawn on Saturday in Baghdad and buried near his hometown of Tikrit a day later.

 I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves John Prescott

Death scenes 'deplorable'

The Iraq authorities released official footage of the execution, to prove to the public that Saddam Hussein was dead. But that film did not include any sound and did not show the actual moment of death. The grainy mobile phone footage that emerged hours later was shot from below the gallows.

  "I lived through the bloody war that Saddam started with Iran. But still I am not happy with Saddam's execution "Alireza Pahlavani, Tehran 

 As Saddam Hussein is led towards the trapdoor, one of the unseen observers shouts "go to hell". Others can be heard chanting the name of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and of Muhammad Sadiq Sadr, his father who was murdered by Saddam Hussein's agents. In response Saddam Hussein is sarcastic, asking "do you consider this bravery?"

 'Unacceptable'

In a BBC interview, John Prescott called it "deplorable" and "totally unacceptable" that video clips of the execution had surfaced on the internet. Mr Prescott is in charge while Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday. "I think the manner was quite deplorable really," he said. "I don't think one can endorse in any way that, whatever your views about capital punishment. "Frankly, to get the kind of recorded messages coming out is totally unacceptable, and I think whoever was involved and responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves."

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Enlarge PhotoAFP

AFP Photo: Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks to supporters at Friday prayers at his local mosque... Slideshow: Iraq

Al-Sadr makes public appearance in Iraq 

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer 

BAGHDAD - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday, delivering a fiery anti-American sermon to thousands of followers and demanding U.S. troops leave  The U.S. military also announced that six U.S. soldiers were killed in a series of attacks across Iraq in recent days. The deaths put May on pace to be one of the deadliest months for U.S. forces here in years. Military officials have warned that U.S. casualties were likely to rise as more troops deployed to Iraq and the military pushed ahead with its Baghdad security crackdown. "As we are conducting more operations, we are going into areas we haven't gone into in force before. We have more people on the ground, this leads to an opportunity for more contact, more conflict, more clashes," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman. "This is a tough fight. We are in a war." In Washington, the Democratic-controlled Congress grudgingly approved fresh billions for the Iraq war, minus the troop withdrawal timeline that drew  President Bush's earlier veto. Bush warned that August could prove to be a bloody month for U.S. troops and said: "The Iraqi government needs to show real progress in return for America's continued support and sacrifice." Al-Sadr had gone into hiding inIranfour months ago at the start of the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown. It was not immediately clear why he chose to return now to his base in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. However, he could be trying to take advantage of the absence of a major rival, Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and went to Iran for treatment. Al-Sadr traveled in a long motorcade from Najaf to the adjacent holy city of Kufa on Friday morning to deliver his sermon before 6,000 worshippers.  "No, no for Satan. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for  Israel," he chanted in a call and response with the audience at the start of his speech. He repeated his long-standing call for U.S. forces to leave Iraq. "We demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces, or the creation of a timetable for such a withdrawal," he said. "I call upon the Iraqi government not to extend the occupation even for a single day."He also condemned fighting between his Mahdi Army militia and Iraqi security forces, saying it "served the interests of the occupiers." Instead, he said the militia should turn to peaceful protests, such as demonstrations and sit-ins, he said. As part of his effort to recast himself as a nationalist — instead of a radical with a narrow Shiite agenda — the 33-year-old leader called on Sunnis to join with him in the fight against the U.S. troop presence here. He also criticized the government's inability to provide reliable services to the people. Al-Sadr is believed to be honing plans to consolidate political gains and foster ties with Iran. His Mahdi Army fought U.S. troops to a virtual standstill in 2004, but to avoid renewed confrontation he ordered his militants off the streets when the U.S. began its security crackdown in the Baghdad area. His associates say his strategy is based partly on a belief that Washington soon will start reducing troop strength, leaving behind a hole in Iraq's security and political power structure that he can fill.

Al-Sadr also believes that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may soon collapse under its failure to improve security, services and the economy, al-Sadr's aides say. A political reshuffle would give the Sadrist movement, with its 30 seats in the 275-member parliament, an opportunity to become a major player. In a move that could hasten the collapse, al-Sadr pulled his supporters out of al-Maliki's government last month over the prime minister's refusal to call for a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal.  The legislation approved by Congress on Thursday includes nearly $95 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and    Afghanistanthrough Sept. 30. Democrats also abandoned their attempts to require the Pentigonto adhere to troop training, readiness and rest requirements unless Bush waived them.  The bill establishes a series of goals for the Iraqi government to meet as it strives to build a democratic country able to defend its own borders. Continued U.S. reconstruction aid would be conditioned on progress toward the so-called benchmarks, although Bush retains the authority to order that the funds be spent regardless of how the Baghdad government performs. Meanwhile, three U.S. soldiers were killed in roadside bombings in the capital and the surrounding areas, the military said Friday. Two others were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, and a sixth soldier was hit by gunfire in the volatile Diyala province, the military said.  The killings raised the American death toll for the month to at least 88. Last month, 104 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq.    Iraq

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