BAGHDAD — At least 80 Iraqis died in bombings and other attacks Saturday as they prepared to celebrate Islam's biggest holiday, their first without Saddam Hussein in three decades.
The bombings came hours after Saddam was hanged in Baghdad for ordering the killings of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail in 1982. Despite concerns about a spike in unrest, Saturday's violence was not unusually high for Iraq, nor did it appear to be in retaliation for the execution.
The military reported the deaths of six more American troops, making December the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq. At least 2,983 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
World leaders used the occasion to express concerns about the death penalty and about the general course of events in Iraq.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel indirectly criticized Saddam's execution.
"We respect the verdict but it is a known fact that the German government opposes the death penalty," she said. "I wish for the Iraqi people to proceed on its path in peace and without violence."
Iran's president said Saddam's execution Saturday could be good for neighboring Iraq but lamented that it would prevent exposure of the crimes the former dictator committed during his brutal rule, state-run television reported.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the former dictator should have faced justice for invading Iran and Kuwait.
The press was unambiguous in its lack of sympathy for the man sentenced to death for ordering the murder of 148 of his own citizens — and who might have been tried for the genocide of thousands more.
In Great Britain, The Sun tabloid noted, simply: "Iraqi butcher sent to Hell." In France, Le Figaro newspaper said the execution was, "A very strong message."
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said there was "something quite heroic about a country that is going through the pain and the suffering that Iraq is going through, yet still extends due process to somebody who was a tyrant and brutal suppressor and murderer of his people."
• Deaths: 2,983
• Wounded: 22,565
Latest identifications
• Cpl. Christopher E. Esckelson, 22, of Vassar, Mich.; and
• Lance Cpl. Nicholas A. Miller, 20, of Silverwood, Mich.; assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Saginaw, Mich.
• Lance Cpl. William D. Spencer, 20, of Paris, Tenn.: assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Nashville, Tenn.
• Pvt. Clinton T. McCormick, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla.; assigned to the 2nd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Source: Department of Defense as of Friday.
