"God Damn You, Persian Midget" - What Saddam And His Executioners Said To Each Other

A more detailed deciphering of the words exchanged between Saddam Hussein and his executions has been published online.

Before the noose was fixed around his neck, Saddam mocked one of his executioners with the line, "God damn you, Persian midget."

Saddam then smiled and made the first reference to powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. This led to claims on Sunni/Baathist websites that the cleric was actually one of the masked executioners.

Officials in the execution chamber then drown out Saddam by shouting "ila jahanam". Which has been translated as "go to Hell".

Others insult Saddam. One man asks them to stop: "I beg you, I beg you, the man is being executed!" Saddam then says the Shahada, or testimony, that there is no god but Allah and Muhamad is his prophet. When he tries to say it again the trap door opens and he falls through to be hung. One man then shouts that "the tyranny has ended!" and others call out triumphal Shia chants.