Ali Hassan Al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, along with former defence minister Sultan Hashim and former army chief of operations, Hussein Al-Tikriti, were all sentenced to death in June for a genocide campaign against the Kurds in the 1980s.

Al-Majid earned the name Chemical Ali for gassing the Kurds in the brutal crackdown.

The row over the planned executions pits prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki against the presidential council, which has vetoed the executions of Hashim and Al-Tikriti.

Hashim and Al-Tikriti are regarded by many Sunni Arabs as career soldiers who were just following orders.

Sunni vice-president Tarqi Al-Hashimi has launched a campaign to spare Hashim, who along with the two other Saddam-era officials are in US custody.

The US military is refusing to hand the three over to the Iraqi authorities before the legal wrangling is resolved.

Agencies

Güncelleme Tarihi: 19 Mart 2008, 20:39