US and Iraqi security forces are on alert in Baghdad and a curfew is to keep the city locked down in anticipation of violence after the delivery of a verdict in the trial of former leader Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity.
Saddam in the dock during his trial earlier this year
Saddam (69), and seven co-accused have been charged with crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shi'ite villagers after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982.
A curfew is expected to keep the city locked down tomorrow when Saddam hears the verdict in his trial for crimes against humanity.
If convicted, the former Iraqi president could be sentenced to hang.
Saddam's chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said yesterday Saddam believed the verdict was timed to boost US president George W Bush before mid-term elections on November 7th, and urged a delay. He warned of bloodshed if Saddam is sentenced to death.
National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told local television stations a curfew would be imposed in Baghdad and the provinces of Diyala and Salahaddin, Saddam's home province.
Curfews are regularly imposed in Iraq at sensitive times and on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said Saddam's execution cannot come soon enough.
But even if he is sentenced to death, it may be many months, even years, before he is hanged as appeals are heard. Saddam is due back in court on Tuesday in another trial, for genocide against ethnic Kurds.
Leave for all military personnel has been cancelled indefinitely and holidaying soldiers recalled to active duty, in of one of the heaviest security crackdowns in Baghdad since the unleashing of rampant sectarian violence following the bombing of a main Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra in February.
Larger than usual numbers of policemen and US troops were seen patrolling city streets, while US army Stryker armoured vehicles blocked traffic on both sides of the al-Jumhuriyah Bridge, one of the capital's most heavily guarded because it carries traffic past the Green Zone.
Violence has already been running high in recent days, with police finding the bodies of 87 torture victims throughout the capital between 6am Thursday and 6pm Friday.
The announcement of a verdict is expected to set off even greater bloodshed, underscoring the trial's failure to bring reconciliation to a country that has fractured ever deeper along sectarian lines.
Many of Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs, along with some Shiites and Kurds, are predicting a firestorm if the ex-president is sentenced to death. On the other hand, majority Shiites, who were persecuted under Saddam but now dominate the government, are likely to be enraged if he escapes the gallows.
Additional reporting: AP