Chemical Ali Captured

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-08-21 04:31pm

Pentagon: U.S. captures 'Chemical Ali'
Thursday, August 21, 2003 Posted: 2:22 PM EDT (1822 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," a cousin of Saddam Hussein and the man who is believed to have ordered the 1988 chemical weapons attack on Kurds, is in U.S. custody, the U.S. military said Thursday.

More than 5,000 Kurds are believed to have died in the chemical attacks.

Al-Majid was taken into custody several days ago, the military said. The circumstances of his capture were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that the United States is looking into a new U.N. resolution that "might call on member states to do more" to bolster security in Iraq. (Full story)

The diplomatic move comes in the wake of Tuesday's bombing in Baghdad that killed at least 23 people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. envoy in Iraq. (Vieira de Mello profile)

Authorities tracking down leads into the bombing think remnants of Saddam's regime, foreign terrorists or the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Islam could have been responsible.

While there has been no confirmed claim of responsibility, Al Arabiya, the Arabic-language TV channel, said it got a claim of responsibility from a group that called itself the "Armed Vanguards of the Second Mohammed Army." The report said the "statement promised to make war on all foreigners and do similar acts."

Al-Majid is the king of spades and No. 5 in the deck of cards issued by the military of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis.

He served as a general, presidential adviser, a member of Saddam's inner circle, commander of the Baath Party Regional Command, member of the Revolutionary Command Council, and head of the Central Workers Bureau.

He had been coordinating the resistance in southern Iraq during the war, according to the coalition, and had been the de facto governor of Kuwait after Iraq invaded that country in 1990. (Profile)

In April, coalition officials believed he was killed in a coalition air strike on his house, but they later had to retract that claim. He later was thought to have been in hiding in northern Iraq, possibly in Tikrit, the home of his clan.

The news comes a few days after another key official, Taha Yasin Ramadan, Iraq's former vice president, was reported to have been captured.

Officials with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said their forces had captured Ramadan in the northern city of Mosul and handed him over to the U.S. military.

Powell says U.S. exploring U.N. resolution
Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke to reporters after a meeting Thursday morning.

"We will be working with the United Nations representatives in Baghdad on security matters," Powell said. "We want the humanitarian workers and other workers in Iraq -- reconstruction workers and others -- to have a safe environment.

"We will work closely with the United Nations to make sure that they can perform their work in as safe an environment as is possible considering the circumstances."

Powell noted that there is an international presence in Iraq with about 30 nations contributing 22,000 troops under coalition control. Five other nations are in the process of sending troops and 14 other nations are in conversation with the coalition on troop contributions.

"Perhaps additional language and a new resolution might encourage others," Powell said. "There is a willingness to come together to help the Iraqi people."

Other developments:
• The U.S. military Thursday demolished an unstable corner of the damaged portion of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. A single charge was detonated to bring down an area that could not withstand further activity from searchers and investigators, the U.S. military told CNN. There is the possibility that human remains are still in the devastated hulk. There are two people still unaccounted for.

• A security threat prompted U.S. military officials on Thursday to evacuate the Baghdad convention center, which holds coalition offices and a media center for coalition-backed Iraqi journalists. It also serves as the meeting area for U.S. military briefings. The building has been evacuated because of similar threats at least twice before.

• U.S. Central Command said that a U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded Wednesday night by an improvised explosive device. The attack, which is under investigation, happened in Baghdad's Karkah district around 11 p.m., according to a statement. The soldiers, from the 1st Armored Division, were evacuated for treatment; one of them was pronounced dead, shortly before midnight.

• Tuesday's truck bomb attack is one of the worst incidents in the history of the United Nations. (Full story)

CNN correspondents Rym Brahimi and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

My first response was...WTF?! Didn't the US report him killed in Basra during the opening days of the war. The article goes on to say that the US retracted this statement later...uhh...when was that? Makes me seriously wonder whether we can really be sure that sadaam is ever dead unless we have bodies.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-08-21 04:46pm

Hey, I thought we killed him.

Oh my god, Chemical Ali is an Unkillable Atomic Super Iraqi!

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-08-21 04:54pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:Oh my god, Chemical Ali is an Unkillable Atomic Super Iraqi!

I'm reminded of Bob the Angry flower comics now, when Saddam invades america.

But damn, "Chemical Ali", sounds even funnier in Swedish.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-08-21 06:51pm

Well if they finaly captured a man who was supposed to be dead,then how long before they get Saddam

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-08-21 07:44pm

The New York Times was reporting that Rumsfeld was saying that he didn't know if Chemical Ali was dead in early June.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-08-21 09:13pm

lets arrange it.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-08-21 09:18pm

This guy murdered thousands. I'm glad he survived a quick death from above. I hope the Iraqis execute him in some painful inhumane way, or he spends the rest of his pathetic life rotting away in Cuba.

Solauren · Post by **Solauren** » 2003-08-21 10:18pm

Let's infect him with AIDS and test out new treatments on him.

If he survives and they find a cure using him, we move onto the next disease.....

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2003-08-22 12:52am

This is bad, very bad.

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-08-22 02:29am

His Divine Shadow wrote:But damn, "Chemical Ali", sounds even funnier in Swedish.

How would that go?

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2003-08-22 03:35am

Kemiske Ali