While newspapers and television channels reported scenes of celebration in Shi'a areas of the country, they also warned of the potential for further violence following the killing of the former dictator.

Under the banner "Saddam Hanged At Dawn", TV station alJazeera reported: "The 69-yearold appeared calm, chatting to his hangmen as they wrapped his neck in black cloth and steered him towards the gallows." The Qatar-based channel quoted Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki calling for Saddam's remaining followers to reconsider their tactics and join the political process.

While the channel broadcast footage of Iraqis celebrating his death, it also warned that many Arabs viewed Saddam's trial as flawed from the outset.

The Aswat al-Iraq news agency highlighted the symbolism of the execution taking place in Iraq's former military intelligence headquarters. The agency also reported that Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half brother, and Awad al-Bandar, former chief of the Revolutionary Court, would most likely be hanged next week.

The Afghan Islamic Press was critical of the Iraqi government for hanging Saddam on the day that marks the beginning of the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival, which coincides with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Official Iranian news agencies welcomed Saddam's death but took the opportunity to extensively criticise continued US involvement in the region. The Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Hamid-Reza Asefi, deputy foreign minister for parliamentary and consular affairs, as saying that Saddam's trial had been limited to one massacre in the town of Dujail because, had the trial focused on his actions during the decade-long war with Iran, the former dictator's relationship with America would have been exposed.

The Dubai-based Gulf Today reported that Saddam had resigned himself to the gallows but had declared that his death would be a "sacrifice" for the Arab people. Saudi Arabia's government-controlled Arab News reported that Saddam had been calm during his final minutes and quoted a political ally of Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki saying, "we heard his neck snap".

In America, news coverage focused extensively on the celebrations seen in certain areas of Iraq following the execution. Fox News chronicled Saddam's crimes during his brutal reign and also reported that crowds of IraqiAmericans had celebrated his demise outside of mosques.