The Iraqi Government High Tribunal on Nov. 5 found Saddam Hussein guilty of ordering the execution of 148 men in Dujail, Iraq, in 1982, and sentenced him to death, according to a DOD news release. The former Iraqi dictator’s lawyers will have 30 days to appeal. US Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, in a statement called the verdict “an important milestone” in Iraq’s effort to build “a free society based on the rule of law.”
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
