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Iraq

Iraq has executed dozens of army officers after failed coup attempt, dissidents say

CAIRO, Egypt (Aug 12, 1996 1:11 p.m. EDT) -- Dozens of army officers were executed in Iraq this month after a failed coup attempt against Saddam Hussein, Iraqi dissident groups said Monday.

There have been persistent reports that Saddam foiled a coup attempt by disgruntled officers planned for the runup to the July 17 anniversary of Saddam's rise to power, though details differ.

About 120 officers were executed by firing squads, the Jordan-based Al-Wifaq Al-Watani, or National Accord Movement, said Monday.

A hero of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, army Maj. Gen. Abed Mutlaq Al-Joubouri, was among those executed, said a movement leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another Iran-based dissident group, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said in a statement Monday that 10 senior officers of Saddam's elite Republican Guard were executed in recent days.

The mostly Shiite group said the executions took place at a Republican Guard camp in Baghdad in the presence of Saddam's eldest son, Odai.

The group provided a list of the officers killed. Two had the family name Tikriti, indicating they were from Saddam's home town of Tikrit.

The London-headquartered Iraqi National Congress also said it had reports of executions, which it said were carried out Saturday at Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.

It was impossible to confirm any of the reported executions.

A number of other failed plots have been reported since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Copyright =A9 1996 Nando.net
Copyright =A9 1996 The Associated Press