Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that hanging the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, will lead to even more bloodshed in Iraq.
He is the first Arab leader outside Iraq to comment publicly on the decision by a court in Baghdad, five days ago, to sentence Saddam Hussein to death.
Mr Mubarak, a key ally of the US in the region, said hanging the former president would only enhance sectarian and ethnic divisions between Iraqis.
Meanwhile, three US soldiers have been killed in two separate incidents in Iraq.
Two soldiers from the Military Police were killed in Baghdad yesterday when their vehicle was blasted by a roadside bomb. A third was wounded.
A marine also died of wounds yesterday following combat in Anbar province, where Sunni rebels are fighting in the west.
US President George W Bush is reassessing his strategy following his Republican party's loss of both houses of Congress at mid-term elections this week that showed voter discontent on Iraq.
