Sunnis Blast Hanging of 2 Saddam Aides

Key Quotes

"The hangings came as a suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army patrol in the northern city of Mosul Monday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, police said. A total of at least 55 people were killed or found dead across Iraq, authorities said."

"By day's end at least 3,000 angry Sunnis, many firing guns in the air, others weeping or cursing the government, assembled for the burials of Ibrahim and al-Bandar in Saddam's hometown of Ouja, near Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad."

"The execution, he said, reflected what he called the Shiite-led government hatred for Sunnis. "They still want more Iraqi bloodshed," he said. "To hell with this democracy."

"Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi said Monday he should have been consulted before the executions were staged, because he and the two other members of Iraq's presidential council _ President Jalal Talabani and Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi _ had asked for the hangings to be delayed."