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Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain has been hanged for crimes against humanity, Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed Abbawi said on Saturday.
"He has been executed. It has been officially announced that he has been executed," Abbawi said, speaking by telephone to BBC News 24.
"Saddam's body is in front me ... It's over," another official from the prime minister's office told CNN, confirming reports from US-backed Iraqi television Al Hurra and Arabic satellite channel Arabiya that the execution had taken place in Baghdad in the early hours of Saturday.
State television released footage of the execution, which were also shown by Arab television stations. Parts of the footage showed men in black ski masks tying a noose around Saddam's head.
Two senior officials, who witnessed the hangings, said that only Saddam was executed, correcting an earlier report on state television that Saddam's half-brother and a former judge died with him.
It was not clear where the execution took place, although key officials who were to attend the hanging had said they had been told to gather in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
Saddam's defence team had filed for a last minute stay of execution, but it was rejected and the ousted dictator was sent to the gallows at 6am.
The US has now warned all embassies to be on high alert as they fear a backlash to his death.
The 69-year-old was allowed a visit from his brother on Friday night before his sentence was carried out.
He had originally been sentenced to death in November after being found guilty of ordering the killings of more than 100 people in the town of Dujail in the 1980s.
However, his lawyers appealed against the verdict - that appeal was rejected this week.
Saddam had said in a letter made public earlier in the week that his execution would be a sacrifice for his country and called on Iraqis to unite and fight US forces.
Your comments
When will Bush and his war criminals be put on trial for the crimes they have committed against humanity? Why only Saddam, why not Bush?
Binod
Lalitpur,Nepal
What has the execution of Saddam Hussain done for the people of Iraq? Nothing, it is going to divide the country in half like Germany was for many years. American troops will have to police a country that should have been left alone. If it was so bad, why did it take almost 30 years for this man to be brought to justice?
Jeff
Erie,USA
The justice meted out to this sadist masquerading as a head of state was too long in coming. Maybe it will serve as an example to other would-be dictators who would entertain committing similar heinous acts and crimes against humanity!
Tom
Red Bank,USA
I am saddened that Saddam Hussain was executed. I hate Saddam but he should have been kept in jail and made to feel the pain in the way his victims felt pain.
Rajendra
Suva,Fiji
Saddam should have been executed when he was young during the massacre time and not in his old age.
Simon
Dubai,UAE
It is not good to judge by looking at the situation outside. It is better to judge Saddam by the people who were killed by him and his family. So I guess he deserved to die.
Mini
Addis Ababa,Ethiopia
I think it's sad that I am reading these comments and they are negative and anti-government. This man committed hideous acts of violence and we are sad for him?
Cotton
Plymouth,USA
I don't understand why people think it was an unfair trail - he got what he deserved. He killed lots of people and you get what is coming to you. Nothing in life is unfair, you live it like you want to live life.
TMC
Big Springs,USA
This is very sad news. Saddam Hussain should not have been executed. If he was going to get punished then he should have some other punishment not execution. The other thing which is really upsetting is that he was executed on the day of Eid Al Adha which is no doubt, a torture to Saddam Hussain.
Sabi
London,UK
They should have not hanged him but kept him in jail for the rest of his life.
Adithya
Sharjah,UAE
I believe his death by execution to be a barbaric act by a trial which was unjust and prejudiced by the US president stating he should hang prior to the trial's commencement.
John
Peterborough,UK
Will this execution help bring Iraq out of quagmire? We can see that violence is still mounting in Iraq despite Saddam's death.
Veeraiah
New Delhi,India
Sad - that's what it is - for a man who rose from such background to die like this. Saddam was singled out and killed as he sat on oil.
Aditya
Mumbai,India
It is just not fair justice. It is really is a solemn moment for all Iraqis to witness this, especially when Saddam was executed during Eid.
Laila
Mississauga,Canada
This execution will, in no way, contribute to improve the quality of life in Iraq. There is no sense in this untimely execution.
Shaji
Dubai,UAE
Saddam may have been executed but Iraq is still the same. People are still hungry and dying there. So whether he is alive or dead doesn't make a difference. It is better if he was sentenced to jail for the rest of his life. Death is not enough for the crime he did. He should suffer and feel the pain he caused others.
Lorenda
Sharjah,UAE
It is sad that an Arab leader has been hanged this way. I feel very sad.
Hyder
Dubai,UAE
Saddam was a small-time dictator who betrayed the people of Iraq and the region by attacking Iran and Kuwait and killing Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites who were not preying him. Shame on him and all dictators.
Saed
Toronto,Canada
An unfair trial, a fast execution - the US really wanted to make sure that Saddam is executed.
AbdulGafoor
Dubai,UAE
The execution of Saddam without a fair trial - especially on the day of Eid - gives a lesson to all that anyone who stands against the super powers will have the same fate.
Shereef
Doha,Qatar
The 21st century started with a dangerous incident of Saddam's hanging. It will be an uneasy century - more dangerous to the humanity than the rule of Saddam.
DNath
Dibrugarh,India
Saddam was a puppet for the west. Why kill him when he could be useful in the future? We in the west don't know when we're on a good thing!
acdaniel
Manchester,UK
When will Bush and his war criminals be put on trial for the crimes they have commited against humanity?
Rashid
Pittsburgh,USA
Saddam deserved to die a very long time ago. Peace to Iraq will only be able to come now that there is no possibility of his return.
Inga
Petersberg,Russia
This is a sadistic end of a dictator in an undemocratic manner by powerful democratic countries. It shouldn't have been.
Somnath
New Delhi,India
This is the terrorist act of oil-hungry people who want control of Iraqi oil.
Jack
New York,USA
Saddam deserves this and this is what is to be named as justice. May those souls who were killed by Saddam rest in peace now.
Praveen
Dubai,UAE
This is not the solution. It's saddening to hear the news. I am against the execution.
Ananth
Chennai,India
By signing the death sentence, Noori Al Maliki has shown himself to be just as dictatorial as Saddam Hussain.
Mohammed
Sharjah,UAE
This is George Bush's problem. It will not increase America's moral authority in the world. Saddam's crimes against humanity were funded by the United States. He was an ally of America when he committed atrocities against Iran, and when he turned on his own people.
Stephen
Benghazi,Libya
Very saddening that none of the Sunni leaders interfered on Saddam?s behalf. His death will not bring any solution to the quagmire of Iraq. On the contrary, the chaos will spread all over the Middle East.
Boubushka
Paris,France
The US has liberated Iraq from this evil man. Too bad they are too full of hate for their fellow Iraqis to appreciate this news.
From a reader
Kokomo,USA
This is very sad. Executing Saddam was really unnecessary. This will not do anything to stabilize the Iraq situation but would probably escalate violence. Saddam was 69 years old, that should have been considered before he was hanged. Second, no one should be executed on Eid.
Foad
London,UK
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