On Monday, Iraq executed Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin. Having received his nickname from his use of poison gas, "Chemical Ali" was hanged.
Chemical Ali was responsible for the poison gas attacks that killed more than 5,000 Kurds in 1988 in Halabja. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced that Chemical Ali was hanged.
The hanging of Chemical Ali is Iraq's highest profile execution since his cousin, Saddam Hussein, was hanged five years ago. However, unlike that execution, Dabbagh stated that no abuse was heaped upon Chemical Ali. "Everyone abided by the government's instructions and the convicted was not subjected to any breach, chanting, abuse words, or insults."
Chemical Ali first authorized the use of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, sarin and VX, in 1987. These attacks culminated in the aforementioned 1988 attack on Halabja.
Both VX and sarin are nerve agents. Iraq originally denied that it had weaponized VX, but subsequent investigation after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq confirmed it. Nerve agents are highly toxic, and Sarin can cause death in as little as one minute after direct ingestion if antidotes, typically atropine and pralidoxime, are not quickly administered. Additionally, Sarin has been said to be 500 times more lethal than cyanide.
Iraqi Kurds gave Ali Hassan al-Majid the nickname of Chemical Ali. They also called him the "Butcher of Kurdistan."
Coincidentally on Monday, a series of coordinated suicide bombings close to well-known hotels in Baghdad killed dozens of people. It was unclear, at the time of this writing, if the bombings were in any way a reprisal for Chemical Ali being hanged.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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