- News>
- World
US military says Iraqi `Chemical Ali` may be alive
Washington, June 06: The cousin of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein known as ``Chemical Ali,`` who US and British officials had thought was killed an April 5 bombing raid, may still be alive, US defense officials said.
Washington, June 06: The cousin of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein known as ''Chemical Ali,'' who US and British officials had thought was killed an April 5 bombing raid, may still be alive, US defense officials said.
US forces bombed the home of Ali Hassan al-Majid in the southern city of Basra during the war to oust Saddam, and British and American officials expressed confidence at the time that Majid had been killed.
But US Central Command and officials at the Pentagon said his status now was considered uncertain.
US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know whether Majid is dead or alive. ''They attacked locations where they believed him to be. There was some speculation afterward that they thought that he had been killed. Now there's some speculation that he may be alive,'' Rumsfeld told reporters after meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Majid is listed as No. 5 on Central Command's list of top-55 wanted Iraqis from Saddam's government, and is designated as the ''king of spades'' in the deck of cards given to US soldiers to familiarize them with Iraqi fugitives.
Majid earned his moniker for ordering a chemical weapon attack against 5,000 Kurds in the Iraqi village of Halabja in 1988 to end decades of insurrection. At the time, Iraq was a US ally. Maj. Brad Lowell, a Central Command spokesman, said, ''There is no disposition next to his name'' on Central Command's list. Therefore, he's at large.''
Lowell said he was unaware of any recent intelligence information that led to a reassessment of Majid's status.
''Chemical Ali,'' if caught, potentially could provide information about Iraqi weapons programs, he added. The US military said at the time of the bombing that two aircraft had struck Majid's Basra home with laser-guided munitions. US military briefers displayed for reporters satellite images of the site before and after the strike.
''He may not have been there,'' said a defense official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Majid played a leading role in Iraq's seven-month occupation of Kuwait from 1990-91 and in the violent suppression of Kurdish and Shiite Muslim uprisings that followed the 1991 Gulf War. The activist group Human Rights Watch called him ''Saddam Hussein's hatchet man.''
Bureau Report
But US Central Command and officials at the Pentagon said his status now was considered uncertain.
US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know whether Majid is dead or alive. ''They attacked locations where they believed him to be. There was some speculation afterward that they thought that he had been killed. Now there's some speculation that he may be alive,'' Rumsfeld told reporters after meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Majid is listed as No. 5 on Central Command's list of top-55 wanted Iraqis from Saddam's government, and is designated as the ''king of spades'' in the deck of cards given to US soldiers to familiarize them with Iraqi fugitives.
Majid earned his moniker for ordering a chemical weapon attack against 5,000 Kurds in the Iraqi village of Halabja in 1988 to end decades of insurrection. At the time, Iraq was a US ally. Maj. Brad Lowell, a Central Command spokesman, said, ''There is no disposition next to his name'' on Central Command's list. Therefore, he's at large.''
Lowell said he was unaware of any recent intelligence information that led to a reassessment of Majid's status.
''Chemical Ali,'' if caught, potentially could provide information about Iraqi weapons programs, he added. The US military said at the time of the bombing that two aircraft had struck Majid's Basra home with laser-guided munitions. US military briefers displayed for reporters satellite images of the site before and after the strike.
''He may not have been there,'' said a defense official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Majid played a leading role in Iraq's seven-month occupation of Kuwait from 1990-91 and in the violent suppression of Kurdish and Shiite Muslim uprisings that followed the 1991 Gulf War. The activist group Human Rights Watch called him ''Saddam Hussein's hatchet man.''
Bureau Report