Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has suffered a severe stroke, reported The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.
According to several reports, the Iraqi leader was rushed to hospital Tuesday suffering from stroke symptoms after officiating at a grandiose New Years parade in Baghdad, the paper added.
According to the daily, a report published in September in the London based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said Hussein was suffering from very poor health and several physical ailments.
Details about the story have been difficult to confirm owing to Iraqi media silence regarding the health of the Iraqi leader, added the newspaper.
The Iraqi President was born on April 28 1937, in the village of Tikrit, where he was raised by his widowed mother.
In 1979, Hussein assumed the presidency of Iraq. That same year, he led Arab opposition to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Under Hussein's direction, Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, in an attempt to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Burdened with a $75 billion war debt, Iraq pressured neighboring Kuwait to pay some of the balance with their vast oil revenues. In August 1990, Hussein invaded and annexed Kuwait, but was forced to withdraw when he was defeated by a coalition of US-led forces in the Gulf War, also known as the Desert Storm.
Saddam Hussein has two sons: Odai and Qusai. According to press reports, Hussein is preparing the elder to succeed him as President – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
