Iraq ? Hundreds of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein on Sunday as they tossed flowers onto his tomb one year after he was executed.

The muted anniversary of Saddam’s death saw little violence, a far cry from the blood spilled on the day the former Iraqi leader was executed and the horrific wave of killing that ensued until the surge of U.S. troops six months later.

But there were a number of operations carried out by American and Iraqi forces. The U.S. military said coalition forces killed six insurgents and detained another 14 on Saturday and Sunday during operations targeting al-Qaida in Iraq in central and northern parts of the country.

In Saddam’s hometown of Tikrit, supporters gathered at his burial site to pay homage. Some gave fiery speeches while others just stood quietly by the tomb, in a large mausoleum in the Tigris River village of Ouja – the small hamlet just outside Tikrit where Saddam was born.

The tomb was covered in Iraq flags and flowers and flanked by large pictures of a smiling Saddam.