Iraq - Hussein Secretary Is Executed - NYTimes.com Saddam Hussein's trusted personal secretary, Abid Hamid Hamoud, once No. 4 on the United States" most-wanted list in Iraq, was executed by hanging on Thursday, the Iraqi Justice Ministry said. Mr. Hamoud was the latest in a series of former senior Iraqi officials who have been executed by Iraq's new leaders since the toppling of Mr. Hussein nine years ago. A distant cousin of Mr. Hussein, he was captured by American forces in June 2003, three months after the American invasion. Mr. Hamoud, who was in his mid-50s, was executed for persecuting members of the Shiite opposition and religious parties that were banned under Mr. Hussein, a court official said.