Scoop Video: Editor's caution, extreme footage will disturb some people - Footage of the execution of Saddam Hussein has been leaked. The following video was taken by a cellphone smuggled into the execution chamber by an unidentified witness to the hanging. This video records the moment of death of the former Iraqi dictator - EDITOR'S WARNING: ADULTS ONLY.

The execution took place shortly before 6am (03:00 GMT) on Saturday at an Iraqi miltary facility in northern Baghdad. Iraqi television later showed footage of Saddam being placed in a noose by hangmen, cutting away just before his execution.See below for more on Saddam Hussein's execution.

See Also, Scoop Video: Saddam Hussein Executed - Iraqi State TV Release (Editor's caution, contains disturbing footage.)

Scoop News: Saddam Hussein has been executed amid growing concern that a civil war in Iraq will flare. Amnesty International's call for a fair trial and for the execution order to be cancelled fell on deaf ears.

United States president George W Bush said: "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime. Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule. It is a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. This would not have been possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society governed by the rule of law." See… White House – Bush's Statement on Execution of Saddam Hussein

Comment by Selwyn Manning - The United States, and by proxy the west, has missed an opportunity of displaying to opposing states and forces that there is an alternative way of dealing with those charged or convicted with crimes against humanity. The killing of Saddam Hussein amid accusations of an unfair trial, and following the White House's wish that the former Iraqi dictator be executed before the year's end, is a tragic indictment against so called states that parade as trans-border savious, but, in reality deal with their enemies through barbaric means.

Saddam Hussein ought to have been tried before the International Criminal Court. But that recourse, and therefore justice for his victims, was denied due to the United States Bush Administration refusing to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Al Jazeera - Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, has been hanged, according to Iraqi and US officials. Reports on Al Hurra, a US-backed television station, said that Saddam was executed shortly before 6am (03:00 GMT) on Saturday. Iraq's deputy foreign minister, Labeed Abbawi, said: "He has been executed. It has been officially announced that he has been executed." A US official also confirmed the hanging but gave no further details. The White House had no immediate comment. See… Saddam Hanged: Fears Of Civil War Intensify

BBC - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been executed by hanging at an unspecified location in Baghdad, for crimes against humanity. Iraqi TV said the execution took place just before 0600 local time (0300GMT). The news was confirmed to the BBC by the Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister, Labeed Abawi. See… Saddam Hussein Hanged in Iraq

Reuters - Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging shortly before 6 a.m. (10:00 p.m. EST) on Saturday, U.S.-backed Iraqi television station Al Hurra and Arabic satellite channel Arabiya said. Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed Abbawi also said the execution had taken place. "I believe so, yes. He has been executed. It has been officially announced that he has been executed," Abbawi said, speaking by telephone to BBC News 24. See… Saddam Hussein Hanged

AP - Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in shambles, was taken to the gallows and executed Saturday, Iraqi state-run television reported. See… Iraqi TV Says Saddam Executed