Iraq decides to sell Saddam's luxury yacht

[November 03, 2008]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq says it has decided to sell Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht after winning a legal dispute over its ownership.

The former dictator's 269-foot superyacht is fitted with swimming pools, salons, a secret passage and a rocket launching system.

Iraq's government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says in a statement that the government on Sunday agreed to part with the superyacht.

French authorities seized the boat on Jan. 31 after it docked in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. The yacht remained there while courts settled a row over the ship's ownership.

A yacht brokerage firm had tried to sell the boat for a reported $35 million. But Iraq said the yacht still belonged the country.

[Associated Press]

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