The State Department has formally announced the capture of Ali Hasan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali" by Coalition Forces in Iraq.

State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in an August 22 statement that eyewitness accounts and evidence point to al-Majid as being responsible for "numerous atrocities" against the Iraqi people, including the use of chemical weapons against the people of the northern Iraqi city of Halabjah in 1988 which killed approximately 5000 people.

"Those responsible for atrocities committed against Iraqis should be held accountable for their actions before an Iraqi-led process," said Boucher. "The United States intends to ensure, with the help of the international community, that strong and credible processes are used to bring these perpetrators to justice."

August 22, 2003

Ali Hasan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali," has been captured and is in custody of Coalition Forces. There are eye witness accounts and other evidence that Ali Hasan al-Majid is responsible for numerous atrocities, including ordering the use of chemical weapons on the people of Halabjah in 1988 which resulted in the death of approximately 5,000 people; brutalizing the Kuwaiti people by directing and permitting torture, murder, rape and wholesale looting as Governor of occupied Kuwait in 1990, and coordinating the suppression of the 1991 Shi'a insurgency in southern Iraq as Minister of the Interior.

Those responsible for atrocities committed against Iraqis should be held accountable for their actions before an Iraqi-led process. For those crimes committed against the nationals of other countries, the governments of those victims may also have an interest in seeking justice. The United States intends to ensure, with the help of the international community, that strong and credible processes are used to bring these perpetrators to justice.