Iraq: Saddam Hussein awarded death penalty

Iraq's High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein [ Images ] to death by hanging for crimes against humanity.

A visibly shaken Hussein shouted, "God is great!" when the sentence was delivered.

Hussein's half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of the former Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to join Hussein on the gallows.

After the verdict was read, Hussein yelled, "Life for the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!"

Three Baath party officials charged with Hussein in the killings of 148 Shiite civilians have been sentenced to 15 years in prison, while a fourth has been cleared.