Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Saddam takes one more with him ...

Or, alternatively, the first candidate for the 2007 Darwin Award.

But, seriously, what?

A young boy who tried to copy hanging scenes from the
execution video of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein died in central
Pakistan, said police on Monday.

Mubashar Ali, 9, hanged himself, while re-enacting Hussein's hanging
with the help of elder sister, 10, after tying a rope to a ceiling fan
and his neck in his home in Rahim Yar Khan district on Sunday, said a
local police official.

The father of the deceased boy said that his children had been
watching the video of Saddam Hussein's execution on television and
attempted to imitate the hanging as other family members thought they
were playing in another room.

"My wife and sister rushed to rescue Mubashar when children cried for
help from the adjoining room, but he died due to hanging," said
Alamgir Paracha, father of Mubashar.

Police said that the death was accidental and a case of parental
negligence.

"It was an accident which happened due to carelessness of parents,"
said district police chief Sultan Ahmad.

Images of the fallen Iraqi dictator with a strap around his neck,
surrounded by executioners in balaclavas, were repeatedly telecast by
Pakistani television channels at the weekend.

Commentators and the media across Europe had expressed shock and
unease on Sunday at graphic television pictures showing the last
moments of Hussein just before his execution.

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