Court exit for angry Saddam

SADDAM Hussein was thrown out of court by the chief judge today after an argument during his Iraq trial on charges of genocide against the Kurds.

The judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, cut off the microphone as Saddam attempted to speak. He then pointed to court bailiffs to escort the ex-president out of the courtroom.

Saddam interrupted the proceedings by shouting a verse from the Koran, the Muslim holy book. "Fight them and God will punish them," Saddam yelled in what appeared to be a call for members of his disbanded Arab Baath Party to continue fighting US forces in Iraq.

In TV broadcasts of the scene, neither Saddam's words nor the judge's voice were heard.