By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer
from YAHOO! NEWS

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and two other former regime officials to death by hanging for their roles in a 1980s scorched-earth campaign that led to the deaths of 180,000 Kurds.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam’s cousin and the former head of the Baath Party’s Northern Bureau Command, trembled and stood silently as the judge read the verdict.

The judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, said al-Majid was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for ordering army and security services to use chemical weapons in a large’scale offensive that killed or maimed thousands.

As he was led out of the court, al-Majid said, “Thanks be to God.”

The decisions, if upheld on appeal, would bring to a close the second trial against former regime officials since Saddam was ousted in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Saddam, who also had been a defendant in the so-called Anfal trial, was hanged Dec. 30 for ordering the killings of more than 140 Shiite Muslims from the Iraqi city of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt against him.

Kurds welcomed the trial as their chance to taste vengeance, although the case did not deal with the most notorious gassing - the March 1988 attack on the northern city of Halabja that killed an estimated 5,000 Kurds.

“Finally, the past hard days are gone. I am ready to start over without this burden on my chest,” said Lokman Abdul-Qader, a 40-year-old resident of Halabja who lost six relatives in the chemical attack and says he has suffered from acute asthma attacks since he inhaled the nerve and mustard gas that was used.

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