Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday that conditions in Iraq were getting more and more ugly after the "barbaric" execution of its toppled president Saddam Hussein.

Mubarak made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Moustafa Bakri, chief-editor of Egypt's al-Esbou weekly which is to hit stand on Saturday, according to the official news agency MENA.

"I know Iraq well and I know that the reaction of the Iraqis would be violent and would make things worse. I was sure that the hanging of Saddam would have a bad impact not only on the Arab nation but also on the entire world," Mubarak said.

The president said he had sent U.S. President George W. Bush an urgent message warning him that the execution would cause serious repercussions to gravely affect regional security and the image of the United States in the eyes of the world community.

However, the message was unheeded and the execution took place in a way that stirred the dismay of many in the world, he added.

"And what was really shocking was to see footage of the hanging process appearing on TV on the day of Eid al-Adha (Greater Bairam), the holiest of Muslim feasts. The timing and the style of the execution reflected not only spitefulness and malice, but also an utter disregard to Arab and Muslim feelings," Mubarak added.

Saddam was hanged on Dec. 30, 2006, the first day of important Islamic festival Eid al-Adha (Islam's feast of sacrifice), sparking anger inside and outside Iraq especially after the hanging was secretly filmed with a mobile phone.

On Wednesday night, Bush announced in Washington that 21,500 additional American troops will be sent to Iraq to help quell the escalating sectarian violence in the Middle East country, which drew immediately criticism from both the U.S. Democrats and Iraqis.

Source: Xinhua