Cassettes Sing Hussein Praises and Are Seized

Police seized about 800 audio and video cassettes of an Algerian singing songs praising Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, authorities said today.

The cassettes, titled in Arabic “Z’dam ya Saddam” (Forge Ahead, Saddam), include numerous insults toward President Francois Mitterrand and President Bush, investigators said.

Authorities were investigating to determine whether the cassettes would incite violence or violate other laws. No charges have been filed against the distributor, SEDICAV, a Lyon firm.

Meanwhile, in Paris, police were investigating two incidents, one in which several Jewish youths were attacked by a group to the cry of “Saddam Hussein,” and another in which three people were injured in an attack by presumed members of an extremist Zionist youth group.

Police said one of the Jewish youths was hospitalized for injuries in the attack in a Jewish section of Paris.

In the second incident, a Tunisian national was among three people hurt in the attack near the University of Paris-Tolbiac campus by several people distributing leaflets from a Zionist organization.