Arab businessmen give Iraqi president private jumbo jet

A group of Arab businessmen presented Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with his own jumbo jet on Saturday, as a "modest contribution" to ending 11 years of U.N. sanctions, Iraq's official INA news agency said.

INA said a delegation comprising businessmen from Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Jordan arrived in Baghdad aboard the Boeing 747 airliner in a show of support for Saddam and people of Iraq.

Saddam passed the aircraft on to the national airline, Iraqi Airways, which has been largely grounded since sanctions were imposed following Iraq's 1990 Gulf war. Some flights are now operated to Jordan and other destinations.

This is the second time in a year that Saddam has received such a gift. A Qatari national also presented Iraq with an American-built jumbo jet in November.