Saddam's Hangman Assassinated

Iraq's outlawed Baath Party has claimed responsibility for executing the masked man (in the blue shirt) who placed the noose over Saddam Hussein's head.

The hangman, identified as Mohhamed Nassif al-Maliki, was apparently tracked down to a city southwest of Baghdad and then killed.

After hanging Saddam, the man was given a captain's rank in the bodyguard of president Nouri al Maliki.