Saddam formally takes stand for first time in trial

BAGHDAD, Mar 15 (Reuters) Saddam Hussein formally took the stand in his trial for the first time today after earlier acknowledging in court he gave orders that led to the killing of 148 Shi'ite men in the 1980s.

He called the court a ''comedy against Saddam Hussein and his comrades.'' The former Iraqi leader and seven co-accused, including former top aides, are charged with the killing of the 148 people from the mostly Shi'ite Muslim town of Dujail after a bid to assassinate him there in 1982.

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