Saddam Hussein is formally charged

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has had the first formal charge against him laid by the Iraqi special tribunal.

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has had the first formal charge against him laid by the Iraqi special tribunal.

The charge involves the killing of Shia Muslims in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him.

The tribunal said it would announce within days when the ousted dictator will stand trial. This is not the most serious charge the former president faces, merely the one where the investigation has made the most progress.