Egypt ? The boys’ deaths – scattered in the United States, in Yemen, in Turkey and elsewhere in seemingly isolated horror – had one thing in common: They hanged themselves after watching televised images of Saddam Hussein’s execution.

Officials and relatives say the children appeared to be mimicking the former dictator’s Dec. 30 hanging, shown on a sanitized Iraqi government tape and on explicit clandestine videos that popped up on Web sites and some TV channels.

The leaked videos, apparently taken by cell phone cameras, set off international outrage about the raucous scene at Saddam’s execution, but some experts are more concerned about the images of the deposed Iraqi leader dropping through the gallows floor and his body swinging at the end of a rope.

The experts say such graphic images can severely affect youngsters who do not yet understand the consequences of death and violence.