NOW JOINING SADDAM HUSSEIN IN HELL:

"Chemical Ali" believed killed (MSNBC, 4/05/03)

U.S. officials tell NBC News they believe an overnight airstrike has killed the man known as "Chemical Ali," a cousin of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and commander of Iraq's southern front. Meanwhile, leaders of the ruling Baath Party in Iraq's second city Basra fear public reprisals and were seeking to negotiate a surrender to British military forces besieging the city, a pan-Arab newspaper reported.

MILITARY SOURCES told NBC News that bomb damage assessments and other intelligence indicate that the strike killed Ali Hassan al-Majeed and others, although his death has yet to be formally confirmed on the ground.

“The strike was part of an ongoing effort to end Saddam Hussein’s regime. Ali is a member of the Iraqi president’s inner circle,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement announcing the attack on the home of Majeed.

Majeed earned his nickname for overseeing the use of poison gas against Kurdish villagers in 1988.

The statement said two aircraft had struck Majeed’s home in Basra with laser-guided munitions early on Saturday. [...]

Meanwhile, pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Aswat reported that Baath Party leaders in Basra had passed a message to a Shiite cleric, Mohammed al-Bosslimi, saying they were afraid of reprisals from the citizens of Basra and wanted to arrange a surrender if Baghdad fell.

“They are afraid but they say that as soon as Baghdad falls they will surrender,” the newspaper quoted the cleric as saying. It said he had met 12 of the high-ranking leaders of the Baath two days ago.

He said the Baath Party leaders could also surrender if U.S.-led forces entered the city.

“The problem is that the hated party members want to be protected from the anger of the public if they give up their weapons,” al-Bosslimi said.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 6, 2003 12:37 AM