An FBI agent fingerprints former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein after he was pulled out of his spider hole on December 13, 2003. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (1937 December 30, 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq. He rose to power in 1979 and suppressed several movements, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements, seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence, and maintained power during the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War. Whereas some in the Arab world lauded Saddam for his opposition to the United States and for attacking Israel, he was widely condemned for the brutality of his dictatorship. The total number of Iraqis killed by the security services of Saddam's government in various purges and genocides is unknown, but the lowest estimate is 250,000. In 2003, a coalition led by the US invaded Iraq to depose Saddam, in which President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair accused him of possessing weapons of mass destruction and having ties to al-Qaeda. Saddam's Ba'ath party was disbanded and elections were held. Following his capture on December 13, 2003, the trial of Saddam took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On November 5, 2006, he was convicted of charges of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. His execution was carried out on 30 December 2006. Baghdad, Iraq.