Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president found guilty of crimes against humanity, may be put to death as early as this weekend, a senior Bush administration official said.

Hussein's execution by hanging isn't expected to happen in the next 24 hours, though it may take place in the days that follow, the official told reporters yesterday. The decision is in the hands of Iraq's government, he added. Lawyer Khalil al- Dulaimi today said a request by U.S. officials for him to arrange collection of his client's personal belongings means Hussein will be transferred from U.S. to Iraqi custody soon, AP reported.

The former leader was given a death sentence last month for his role in the 1982 massacre of 148 Shiite Muslims in the northern Iraqi village of Dujail. He lost a court appeal against the sentence on Dec. 26. Under Iraqi law he has to be executed within 30 days of the rejection of the appeal.

``The execution of the death sentence will help in the healing process in Iraqi society; it will help in the reconciliation of the Iraqis, to look forward to the future and to turn that dark page in their history,'' Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said today in a phone interview from Iraq. ``This government has given him the opportunity to get the justice that he has denied to millions of Iraqis during his reign.''

Hussein was still in U.S. custody early today, the Associated Press said, citing al-Dulaimi. Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki today told the relatives of some of Hussein's victims that no one can prevent the execution, Agence France-Presse said.

Zebari said the timing of Hussein's execution was a matter for the Justice Ministry. The ministry couldn't be reached.

Captured in 2003

Hussein, 69, was deposed following the March 2003 U.S. invasion and in December of that year captured by American forces. Al-Maliki has said he should be hanged by the end of this year.

The Dujail trial was the first of what was potentially a series of criminal proceedings against Hussein, who took control of Iraq's Baath party in 1979 and immediately set about executing hundreds of political and military officials in purges.

In 1980, he began an eight-year war against neighboring Iran in which hundreds of thousands of people died on both sides. The war crippled Iraq economically.

Hussein and six co-defendants are currently on trial for the ``Anfal'' military operation against Iraqi Kurds. They are accused of overseeing the killing of at least 182,000 people in 1987 and 1988. The defendants include Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as ``Chemical Ali'' for his alleged use of gas in attacks on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988.

Iraqi Law

Iraqi law stipulates that the death sentence must be carried out regardless of any other continuing legal proceedings.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, an independent advocacy group that opposes the death penalty, said in a Nov. 20 report that executing Hussein before further cases are heard will deny thousands of witnesses a chance to testify about other alleged crimes.

U.S. President George W. Bush has been under pressure from lawmakers and the public to implement a new strategy in Iraq amid escalating sectarian violence between majority Shiite and minority Sunni Muslim factions and attacks on coalition troops.

Bush said yesterday he is ``making good progress'' toward deciding on changes to U.S. plans in Iraq after meeting at his Texas ranch with top national-security officials. Bush said he has ``more consultation'' to do before completing a plan for moving forward in Iraq.

To contact the reporters on this story: William McQuillen in Crawford, Texas, at bmcquillen@bloomberg.net; Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 29, 2006 09:55 EST