US Nets Iraq’s Chemical Ali
<b>BAGHDAD, Thursday-</b> Ali Hassan al-Majid, the Iraqi commander known as “Chemical Ali†(right) for carrying out chemical weapons attacks against the Kurds in 1988, has been captured and is in US custody, the US army said Thursday.
BAGHDAD, Thursday- Ali Hassan al-Majid, the Iraqi commander known as “Chemical Ali†(right) for carrying out chemical weapons attacks against the Kurds in 1988, has been captured and is in US custody, the US army said Thursday.
“He has been captured and he is in the custody of coalition forces,†a Central Command spokesperson told AFP.
Majid is listed as number five on the US list of 55 most wanted officials of the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.
Coalition forces will continue to work to apprehend former members of Saddam’s regime, said a separate statement from Central Command confirming the arrest.
A US defence official told AFP in Washington earlier Thursday that Majid had been captured.
“It looks like he’s alive and well and in our custody,†the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official could not offer any details on the circumstances surrounding Majid’s capture.
A cousin of Saddam who, like the deposed Iraqi leader, hailed from Tikrit north of Baghdad, Majid was considered the president’s right-hand man, and his services were regularly called upon to break the back of any uprising against the regime.
He was blamed for a poison gas attack that killed about 5,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988.
In a report earlier this year, New York-based Human Rights Watch called for Majid’s arrest and prosecution, saying he was responsible for the deaths or “disappearances†of around 100,000 non-combatant Kurds when he put down their revolt.
“Majid is Saddam Hussein’s hatchet man. He has been involved in some of Iraq’s worst crimes — including genocide and crimes against humanity,†Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, said.
Majid was thought to have been killed by coalition bombing of his villa in the southern Iraqi city of Basra during the US-led war launched in March, but US Defence Secretary acknowledged in early June he might still be alive.
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“He has been captured and he is in the custody of coalition forces,†a Central Command spokesperson told AFP.
Majid is listed as number five on the US list of 55 most wanted officials of the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.
Coalition forces will continue to work to apprehend former members of Saddam’s regime, said a separate statement from Central Command confirming the arrest.
A US defence official told AFP in Washington earlier Thursday that Majid had been captured.
“It looks like he’s alive and well and in our custody,†the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official could not offer any details on the circumstances surrounding Majid’s capture.
A cousin of Saddam who, like the deposed Iraqi leader, hailed from Tikrit north of Baghdad, Majid was considered the president’s right-hand man, and his services were regularly called upon to break the back of any uprising against the regime.
He was blamed for a poison gas attack that killed about 5,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988.
In a report earlier this year, New York-based Human Rights Watch called for Majid’s arrest and prosecution, saying he was responsible for the deaths or “disappearances†of around 100,000 non-combatant Kurds when he put down their revolt.
“Majid is Saddam Hussein’s hatchet man. He has been involved in some of Iraq’s worst crimes — including genocide and crimes against humanity,†Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director, said.
Majid was thought to have been killed by coalition bombing of his villa in the southern Iraqi city of Basra during the US-led war launched in March, but US Defence Secretary acknowledged in early June he might still be alive.
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