TIKRIT, Iraq, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was buried early Sunday in the same cemetery as his sons in his birthplace of Tikrit.
A CNN reporter who witnessed the dawn funeral said about 100 people attended, including the governor of the area. Saddam's body was given to members of the Bou Nasser tribe after his hanging early Saturday in Baghdad.
Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed by U.S. forces in 2003, several months before Saddam's capture.
There had been speculation Saddam would be buried in the Green Zone to keep his grave from becoming a place of pilgrimage for supporters. Muslim practices do not allow cremation and require burial to take place soon after death.
There were reports that Saddam's family wanted him buried in Ramadi, one of the major insurgent strongholds.
Saddam was allowed a visit with two of his half-brothers Thursday. Another half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim, who headed the secret police, is expected to be hanged in a few days, and Saddam's wife and daughter face arrest if they return to Iraq.
