Baghdad, Jan 23 (IANS): The Iraqi authorities Sunday banned individuals from visiting former Iraqi president Saddam Hussien's grave over two years after having already prohibited organised visits to it in the Salahudin province, a police source said.

"The Iraqi cabinet directed authorities of Salahudin province to take all necessary measures to prevent any visit to Saddam Hussein's grave," Xinhua quoted a source from the provincial operations as saying.

Hussein's body, along with those of his two sons and other relatives, is buried in his hometown of al-Ouja near Salahudin provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad.

Ousted following a US-led invasion in 2003, Hussein was executed in 2006 after an Iraqi court sentenced him to death for crimes against humanity.

In mid-2009, the Iraqi government had banned all organised visits of people and schoolchildren to Hussein's grave amid concerns over growing support for the late former leader and his banned Baath party.

However, visits by individuals from different provinces, including Shiite ones, had continued after the first ban.