Two American troops were killed when a helicopter crashed in Salahaddin province north of Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said. According to Reuters, two U.S. Marines and one soldier died on Saturday and Sunday from wounds sustained in combat in the western province of Anbar, the U.S. military added.
Meanwhile, judges have put Saddam Hussein's appeal process into motion. The ousted Iraqi leader was sentenced to hang by the Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday.
According to AFP, tribunal spokesman Raed Juhi said the court has 10 days, starting Monday, within which it must submit its ruling justifying Saddam's execution to an appeals committee. This panel will then invite input from the prosecution.
Defense lawyers have also said they will submit their arguments. Twenty days after that, the case will be sealed and the panel will retire to consider its verdict. No date has been set for their final judgement, said Juhi. If the verdict are endorsed, Saddam would be hanged despite his second, ongoing trial on charges of murdering thousands of Iraq's Kurdish minority.
On the ground, jubilant Shiites rallied by the hundreds Monday, celebrating Saddam's conviction as Sunnis held counter-demonstrations.
