US President George W. Bush said yesterday that the death sentence of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was "a landmark event in the history of Iraq."

"On Sunday, we witnessed a landmark event in the history of Iraq. Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death," Bush said during a campaign in Florida.

"We congratulate the Iraqi people. We appreciate the fact that they are converting their country from a rule of tyrant to rule of law," Bush said.

Bush has hailed Sunday's verdict of Saddam Hussein as "a milestone" for Iraq.

"The trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law," Bush said Sunday in a statement in Waco, Texas.

Saddam and two of his senior aids were sentenced to death by hanging on Sunday. The Iraqi High Tribunal found them guilty of crimes against humanity over the execution of 148 Shiite villagers of Dujail after a failed assassination attempt against Saddam in 1982.

The United States invaded Iraq and toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.