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Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's personal secretary and chief bodyguard, who handed down many of the dictator's repressive orders has reportedly been executed. Abed Hamoud, was number four on the US list of most-wanted Iraqi officials following the 2003 invasion, after the Sunni dictator and his sons. He was regarded by many Iraqis as more influential than most ministers, The Telegraph reports. Haider al-Saadi, spokesman for the justice ministry, confirmed that 'Hamoud was executed Thursday afternoon.' According to the paper, Hamoud was the fifth former Saddam official to be executed in Iraq after the dictator. Others, including former prime minister Tareq Aziz and intelligence chief Sadoun Shakir, have been sentenced to death, but are still being held in prison. Hamoud was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of orchestrating a crackdown against rival political parties in Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s, including assassinations and unlawful detentions.

Iraq executes Saddam Hussein's ex personal secretary, bodyguard