Nine severed police heads found in Saddam's hometown

TIKRIT, Iraq (AFP) - Nine severed heads of policemen were found in the central Iraqi city of Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein.

Two boxes containing the heads were tossed out of a speeding car in the centre of Tikrit, the capital of Salaheddin province, a police officer said Saturday. Decapitation is a signature of extremist Islamist groups like Al-Qaeda.

The discovery comes as the overwhelmingly Sunni province marked the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time of prayer and introspection across the region and increased violence in Iraq.

On Thursday, some 500 people demonstrated in downtown Tikrit calling for the release of Saddam, the ousted president currently being tried on charges of genocide for killing 182,000 Kurds in 1987-1988.

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