US president George Bush said today that Saddam Hussein's execution marked the "end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops" but warned that his death would not halt the violence in Iraq.
Yet, Mr Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas, "it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror".
In a message of assurance to the people of Iraq, Mr Bush said the execution was a reminder of how far the Iraqi people had come since the end of Saddam's rule.
"The progress they have made would not have been possible without the continued service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform," he said.
Mr Bush was asleep when the execution took place.
In Britain, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett welcomed the fact Saddam had been "held to account".
Mrs Beckett said: "I welcome the fact that Saddam Hussein has been tried by an Iraqi court for at least some of the appalling crimes he committed against the Iraqi people. He has now been held to account."
She added that the Government "does not support the use of the death penalty, in Iraq or anywhere else" but added that "we respect the decision" of the Iraqi authorities.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the statement from Mrs Beckett spoke for the whole government.
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai appeared to criticise the timing of the execution, but said it was "the work of the Iraqi government" and would have "no effect" on Afghanistan.
"We wish to say that Eid is a day for happiness and reconciliation. It is not a day for revenge," Mr Karzai told reports at the presidential palace after offering an Eid prayer at Kabul's main mosque early today.
The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi announced a three-day official mourning period and cancelled all celebrations of Eid.
In an official statement, the government ordered all its branches to lower the national flag to half mast.
The execution also sent many Palestinians into deep mourning as they struggled to come to terms with the demise of perhaps their most steadfast ally.
Unlike much of the rest of the world, where Saddam was viewed as a brutal dictator who oppressed his people and started regional wars, in the West Bank and Gaza he was seen as a generous benefactor unafraid to fight for the Palestinian cause — even to the end.
Saddam's final words were reportedly "Palestine is Arab."
"We heard of his martyrdom, and I swear to God we were deeply shaken from within," said Khadejeh Ahmad from the Qadora refugee camp in the West Bank. "Nobody was as supportive or stood with the Palestinians as he did."
In Israel, where Saddam was seen as a bitter enemy, there was little sadness. But Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh expressed concerns about Iraq's path in the post-Saddam era.
Sneh told Israel Radio that Israel was concerned about the strengthening of Iranian influence in the Shiite sections of southern Iraq and also in the central government. Iraq had also become a regional "power station" for terror that could spread chaos throughout the Middle East, he said.
"We have to be worried about what is going to happen now," he said.
The Vatican spokesman denounced Saddam Hussein's execution as "tragic" and said it would not help efforts to bring justice, or to reconcile Iraqi society.
The execution is "tragic and a reason for sadness", the Rev Federico Lombardi said, speaking in French on Vatican Radio's French news programme.
It "will not help efforts aimed at justice and reconciliation" and "risks increasing violence", the spokesman said.
He reiterated the Vatican's opposition to the death penalty.
AP