No date set for Saddam hanging

Iraqi PM's aide says the execution timing is not yet finalised as the Govt is still discussing the legal procedures.

The Iraqi government is still discussing the legal procedures necessary to execute Saddam Hussein and nothing has been decided about the timing, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday.

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US-backed Iraqi television channel Al Hurra quoted Iraqi sources as saying Saddam would either be hanged within hours on Friday or the execution would be put off until after a week-long religious holiday.

The aide to Maliki, who declined to be identified, said the government was still divided on the issue of whether a presidential decree was required before the hanging.

A source in the prosecution, which according to the penal code must have a representative at an execution, said he was unaware of any plans for an imminent execution.