Purported Saddam tape denies role in Najaf blast
DUBAI (CNN) -- The Arabic television channel Al Jazeera aired an audio tape Monday purportedly from former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein saying he was not involved in the deadly bomb attack outside a mosque in Najaf, Iraq.
Friday's car bomb killed at least 83 Iraqis, according to the city's governor, including one of Iraq's most prominent Shiite clerics, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim.
Addressing the "great and strong people of Iraq," the speaker on the tape referred to the bombing as "an accident," adding: "They [the Americans] rushed to accuse the so-called Saddam supporters with no evidence."
"Maybe many of you have heard the hiss of the snakes, the servants of the occupiers, how they accused us without any evidence of killing of al-Hakim," the tape said.
"Saddam Hussein is a leader not of the minority but the leader of the great people of Iraq," the tape said. The voice added that Iraqis included Arabs, Kurds, Shiites, Sunnis, Moslems and non-Moslems.
Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Charles Heatley dismissed the tape.
"Every now and then we get these tapes," Heatley said. "People pop up and down and make comments. The fact is that Saddam Hussein is not in control of this country. The very few people who remain loyal to him have lost any support he had among the Iraqi population."
On Sunday, a U.S. official said the FBI will assist Iraqi police in investigating the bombing. Najaf Gov. Haydar Al-Mayali told reporters Sunday that the blast was caused by two car bombs, not one as had been reported previously, packed with a total of 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) of explosives
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/01/sprj.irq.main/I've always said, and still believe, he's 6 feet under... Actually far below that!