Baath Parthy Threatens Retaliation When Saddam Is Executed

Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party threatened to retaliate if the ousted Iraqi leader is executed, warning in an internet posting it would target US interests anywhere. The statement appeared on a website known to represent the Baath, which was disbanded after US-led forces overthrew Saddam in 2003. The site is believed to be run from Yemen, where a number of exiled members of the party are based. Iraq’s highest court rejected Saddam’s appeal against a conviction and death sentence for the killing of 148 people who were detained after an attempt to assassinate in Dujail, northern Iraq, in 1982.The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days. “Our party warns again of the consequences of executing Mr. President and his comrades,” the statement said. “The Baath and the resistance are determined to retaliate, with all means and everywhere, to harm America and its interests if it commits this crime,” the statement added, referring to Baath fighters as “the resistance”.