Thousands of Iraqis flocked to Saddam Hussein's hometown of Ouja on Sunday, where the deposed leader was buried in a religious compound 24 hours after his execution, the Associated Press reported. Dozens of relatives and other mourners attended the interment shortly before dawn near Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad. Police on Saturday blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Saddam was captured in an underground hide-out near Ouja on Dec. 13, 2003, eight months after he fled Baghdad ahead of advancing American troops. His burial place is about 2 miles from the graves of his sons, Odai and Qusai, in the main town cemetery. The sons and a grandson were killed in a gun battle with the American forces in Mosul in July 2003.
