But in some predominantly Sunni Arab areas, the mood was one of anger and resentment. Immediately following the verdicts, fighting broke out between gunmen and the Iraqi Army in the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in northeastern Baghdad, according to an Interior Ministry official. American forces swarmed the district, however, suppressing the violence.

Fighting also erupted between supporters of Hussein and American troops near Bayji, north of Tikrit, Hussein’s birthplace and a bastion of support for the Sunni-led insurgency, according to witnesses there. In a national televised address, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Hussein’s execution would not compare with “one drop of the blood” of the people who died opposing his rule. “The execution could partially appease the victims,” he continued. “The martyrs of Iraq now have the right to smile.”

In recent days, Maliki publicly expressed his hope that Hussein would receive the death sentence, saying it would help to dissipate the insurgency. Today, Maliki said that with the Saddam Hussein “era” now past, the door was “wide open for all to participate in the political process through reconciliation, which has been endorsed by the Iraqi people,” according to translation provided by CNN during the broadcast.

American ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, hailed the verdicts as “an important milestone in the building of a free society” in Iraq. “Although the Iraqis may face difficult days in the coming weeks, closing the book on Saddam and his regime is an opportunity to unite and build a better future,” he said in a written statement.