MaryAnnDVC
"Mare", DISing since '99; prefers being tagless
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/07/sprj.irq.chemical.ali/index.html
DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Reliable sources said Sunday that the body of Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the man known as "Chemical Ali," has been found in Basra, said a spokesman for the British military at U.S. Central Command headquarters here.
Al-Majeed, who was in his 50s, led a campaign against rebellious Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988 in which entire villages were wiped out. An estimated 100,000 Kurds, mostly civilians, were killed. He earned the nickname "Chemical Ali" from opponents of the Iraqi regime for reportedly ordering a poison gas attack on Halabja, in northern Iraq, that killed thousands of Kurds.
Maj. Andrew Jackson of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment told The Associated Press that al-Majeed's body was found along with that of his bodyguard and the head of Iraqi intelligence services in Iraq's second-largest city, which lies about 250 miles [400 kilometers] southeast of Baghdad.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had entrusted al-Majeed, his first cousin, with defending southern Iraq against invading coalition forces.
The Iraqi general was believed to have been killed during intense bombing of several sites in the city, including his home. British military sources told CNN that the bombing killed several high-ranking Baath Party officials and left the forces in Basra "in disarray.
DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Reliable sources said Sunday that the body of Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the man known as "Chemical Ali," has been found in Basra, said a spokesman for the British military at U.S. Central Command headquarters here.
Al-Majeed, who was in his 50s, led a campaign against rebellious Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988 in which entire villages were wiped out. An estimated 100,000 Kurds, mostly civilians, were killed. He earned the nickname "Chemical Ali" from opponents of the Iraqi regime for reportedly ordering a poison gas attack on Halabja, in northern Iraq, that killed thousands of Kurds.
Maj. Andrew Jackson of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment told The Associated Press that al-Majeed's body was found along with that of his bodyguard and the head of Iraqi intelligence services in Iraq's second-largest city, which lies about 250 miles [400 kilometers] southeast of Baghdad.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had entrusted al-Majeed, his first cousin, with defending southern Iraq against invading coalition forces.
The Iraqi general was believed to have been killed during intense bombing of several sites in the city, including his home. British military sources told CNN that the bombing killed several high-ranking Baath Party officials and left the forces in Basra "in disarray.
