Literally: "Off With His Head!"

Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution.

A government adviser, Bassam al-Husseini, told the news conference the damage to the body of Barzan, Saddam's feared head of intelligence, was ``an act of God.''

Dabbagh said: ``In a rare case, the head of Barzan was detached from his body during the execution.''