Latest news with #AliHassanal-Majid
Shafaq News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Baghdad confiscates properties from Saddam Hussein's cousin
Shafaq News/ Iraqi authorities confiscated agricultural properties registered under the names of Ali Hassan al-Majid—commonly known as 'Chemical Ali'—and his two brothers, an Iraqi official announced on Tuesday. Abbas Mutib Shami, Deputy Chairman of the board of Iraq's Confiscation and Seizure Fund, said in a statement that the confiscation was carried out under the provisions of Law No. 72 of 2017, which governs the seizure of movable and immovable assets belonging to members of the former regime. According to the statement, the total area of the confiscated agricultural shares amounts to more than 501 dunams. Al-Majid's personal share in Kirkuk province alone accounted for 125 dunams. He was captured in 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq, convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, and executed by hanging in 2010. In 2017, Iraq enacted Law No. 72, mandating the confiscation of assets belonging to former regime officials, including al-Majid and his relatives.
Shafaq News
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
37 years later: 1,000 Anfal victims found in Kirkuk mass grave
Shafaq News/ A mass grave containing the remains of around 1,000 Kurdish victims has been uncovered in the Sayadla area behind Kirkuk University, a genocide documentation activist revealed on Saturday. Hayman Hasib, who works with groups investigating Anfal-era crimes, confirmed the site holds victims of Iraq's late-1980s military campaign against Kurdish civilians. He identified the location as near a facility once used by Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," a key figure behind mass executions under the former regime. Hasib also noted that regime-era records indicate the area functioned as a municipal cemetery for unidentified corpses, many believed to be Kurds. 'This marks the first public identification of the site in Kirkuk,' he told Shafaq News Agency, highlighting that the discovery aligns with the 37th anniversary of the Anfal campaign. A separate grave was located on Friday at the Tobzawa military camp in southern Kirkuk, according to a security source. These sites add to the growing number of mass graves documented across Iraq since 2003, most linked to the Baathist regime's repression of Kurds and Shiites.
Shafaq News
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq to approach Iran on missing Kurds' fate
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, on Friday, its readiness to engage with Iran regarding the fate of Kurdish citizens from al-Sulaymaniyah who went missing in Iran during Saddam Hussein's Anfal campaigns and chemical attacks in the 1980s. The Ministry stated that Deputy Minister for Bilateral Relations, Ambassador Mohammad Hussein Mohammad Bahr Al-Uloom, met in Baghdad with Abdullah Haji Mahmood, Minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs in the Kurdistan Region, to discuss cooperation mechanisms for tracing missing individuals. Minister Mahmood emphasized the humanitarian significance of the issue, noting that 'many Kurds lost their families during these military operations. The Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs is working to identify and reunite these citizens with their families.' Deputy Minister Bahr Al-Uloom affirmed Iraq's commitment to addressing the matter through official diplomatic channels with Iran, stressing that 'the legacy of the former regime's crimes continues to impact Iraqi society.' He reiterated the ministry's dedication to pursuing every possible effort to resolve such 'historical injustices.' The Anfal campaigns, one of the most brutal genocidal operations carried out by Saddam Hussein's regime against the Kurdish people, began in 1986, peaked in 1988, and lasted until 1989. The campaign, led by Ali Hassan al-Majid—infamously known as "Chemical Ali"—resulted in mass killings, forced displacements, and chemical attacks, including the infamous assault on Halabja. On May 3, 2011, the Iraqi High Criminal Court officially recognized the Anfal campaign as a crime against humanity and genocide. Ali Hassan al-Majid was convicted for his role and executed on January 25, 2010. The Kurdistan Region commemorates the victims of Anfal annually on April 14.
