Iraq Called: They Want Saddam Hussein's Butt Back

Ely with his piece of ass

Should Nigel Ely Tell Them To Kiss It?

While Nigel Ely was working in Iraq, there was only one memento that he wanted to bring home: Saddam Hussein's buttock.

Ely is an ex-SAS troop, who had been posted to the war-torn country in 2003. It was during this time that the iconic Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad was pulled down and Ely, who had been guarding a TV news crew at the time, was provided with a front-row seat. He smashed the buttock from the statute, and dragged it back to his home in Britain, levying a hefty excess baggage fee in the process.

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Since then, Ely has been trying to sell the 2ft piece of ass, and has even had it up for auction for almost $400,000. It failed to make its reserve price. But now, almost a decade later, the Iraqi government want their butt back, claiming it is a piece of the country’s “cultural antiquity."

The Iraqi embassy has made a complaint to the police, meaning that, if Ely doesn't return the piece, he could face criminal charges. Ely reportedly claims he is now the legal owner as he has turned the buttock into a work of art. The ex-soldier says: "When I got it, it was just a piece of scrap metal. I am only doing this to raise money for military charities. If the Iraqis want to split the proceeds to give some to Iraqi charities, I am happy to listen."

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The rest of the statue that once stood in Firdos Square has been melted down into scrap metal by the Iraqi government.