Saddam's golden gun goes on display

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was truly the man with the golden gun. And to prove it, Australia has put the weapon on display at its war museum.

Australia went to war in Iraq to remove Saddam's weapons and still maintains forces in and around the Middle Eastern country.

On Monday, the Australian War Memorial accepted a golden Tabuk rifle -- the Iraqi equivalent of the AK-47 -- from the Australian military, which in turn received it from allied U.S. troops in thanks for taking part in the Iraq war.

"This weapon is an example of the excesses of the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein," the Memorial's Assistant Director Nola Anderson said.

The rifle was found by American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the clearance of buildings around Kirkuk, in northern Iraq.