- Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti was ace of diamonds in military card deck of wanted Iraqis
- He had been sentenced to death for genocide and crimes against humanity
- Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006
(CNN) -- Iraq executed an aide to its late ruler Saddam Hussein, state TV reported Thursday.
The Justice Ministry carried out the execution of Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, who was Hussein's personal secretary, national security adviser and senior bodyguard, the report said.
Al-Tikriti was the ace of diamonds in the U.S. military's card deck of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. He was No. 4 on the list behind Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay.
He and members of Hussein's special security forces were captured in a 2003 raid by U.S. Special Operations Forces near the north-central Iraq town of Tikrit.
What to do with Saddam's palaces? The Iraqi High Tribunal had sentenced al-Tikriti to death for genocide and crimes against humanity.
The 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Hussein was executed in December 2006 after being found guilty of crimes against humanity in the killings of Shiite villagers in 1982.
