Court sentences "Chemical Ali" to death

An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death Saddam Hussein's cousin, widely known as "Chemical Ali", for masterminding a genocidal campaign against Iraq's ethnic Kurds in the 1980s.

A tired-looking Ali Hassan al-Majeed, wearing traditional Arab robes, trembled as the judge read the verdict, one witness said. As Majeed left the courtroom, he said: "Thanks be to God."

Majeed, whose very name once sparked fear among Iraqis, directed a military campaign against the Kurdish north in which chemical weapons were used, villages demolished, agricultural lands destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.

The court also sentenced to death two former military commanders under Saddam for their roles in the campaign. Two other commanders were sentenced to life in prison, while charges were dropped against the former governor of Mosul province for lack of evidence. Saddam was the seventh defendant, until his execution in December in a separate trial.

Kurds have long sought justice for the so-called Anfal or "Spoils of War" campaign that has left lasting scars on their mountainous region. Prosecutors say up to 180,000 people were killed in the seven-month "scorched-earth" operation in 1988.

The populations of entire villages disappeared.

Majeed was viewed as Saddam's main enforcer, a man with a reputation for brutality who was used by the president to crush dissent. He also played a leading role in stamping out a Shi'ite rebellion in the south after the 1991 Gulf War.

During Anfal, thousands of villages declared "prohibited areas" were razed and bombed. Thousands of villagers were deported, many executed.

Mustard gas and nerve agents were used to clear villages, earning Majeed his grim nickname "Chemical Ali". Many of those killed in the poison gas attacks were women and children.