30 Facts About the Rise and Fall of Saddam Hussein, the Butcher of Baghdad

4. Hussein Killed Many of His Own People

In addition to killing off many of his political opponents, Saddam tortured and killed many Iraqi civilians. His uncle who raised him had imbued within him a hatred of both Shi’as and Kurds, both of whom made up a large part of Iraq’s population. In 1991 alone, he had as many as 180,000 people killed.