"The court sentences to death Hadi Hassuni, Abdul Hassan al-Majid and Farukh Hijazi, who were agents of the intelligence services," tribunal spokesman Mohammed Abdul Saheb told AFP.

Two other men, military intelligence chief Saber Duri and Saddam's secretary Abdul Hamid Mahmoud, were sentenced to life imprisonment at the conclusion of the trial, which began in October 2009.

Sabawi Ibrahim Hassan, the executed dictator's half-brother, and Saddam's deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz were acquitted in the trial.

The convictions came over the murder of Sheikh Taleb al-Suhail al-Tamimi, head of the Banu Tamim tribe, who fled Iraq for the Lebanese capital with his family after a Baath Party coup in 1968.

He later attempted his own coup against Saddam, who rose to power in 1979, but was gunned down outside his Beirut home on April 14, 1994.

Lebanon severed its ties with Iraq in the aftermath of the killing, but arrested five Iraqi diplomats and one Lebanese accomplice over the assassination.

All but one were released without charge, with one diplomat having died in prison in Lebanon.

The other four diplomats later returned to Iraq only to flee after the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam.

Tamimi's daughter, Safia al-Suhail, has been an Iraqi lawmaker since 2005. She was elected to the Council of Representatives in March 2010 polls as part of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's slate, but is now an independent lawmaker.

"I am satisfied because I have expected this decision for 15 years, but at the same time I will continue my fight to bring to justice those who managed to escape and take refuge abroad," Suhail told AFP by telephone.

earlier related report
Maliki says troops ready in talks with US's Mullen
Baghdad (AFP) April 21, 2011 - The Iraqi army can maintain security, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Thursday in talks with America's top military officer, the latest official to visit Baghdad ahead of an upcoming US pullout.

Maliki's remarks to Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated those he made to John Boehner, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, who visited Iraq last weekend.

"Prime Minister Maliki said the armed forces and the Iraqi security forces were able to take responsibility, and that they worked with professionalism," a statement from the premier's office said.

He added that Iraq would "continue to strengthen their combat capabilities while providing them with the latest equipment and weapons."

The US military declined to comment on Mullen's trip when contacted by AFP.

Sandwiched between Boehner's and Mullen's trips was a visit by US army chief of staff General Martin Dempsey.

Fewer than 50,000 US troops are currently stationed in Iraq, down from a peak of nearly 170,000 following the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003.

All of those troops must withdraw from the country by the end of the year, according to the terms of a bilateral security pact.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on a surprise trip to Iraq on April 8 that American forces were prepared to stay in any role beyond the scheduled pullout, but time was running out for Baghdad to ask.

"My basic message to them is (for us to) just be present in some areas where they still need help. We are open to that possibility," he said. "But they have to ask, and time is running out in Washington."

A senior American military official also said last week that Iraqi leaders should not expect US forces to return to help in a crisis after they have pulled out.

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