IRAQI JUDGE: EXECUTION SET FOR CHEMICAL ALI

Ali Hassan Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali," is set to be executed on Tuesday October 16 for his role in the deaths of up to 180,000 Kurds, an Iraqi judge said. Munir Hadad, a senior judge of the Supreme Criminal Court, said the execution could take place anytime after 5:00 a.m. local time. Majeed and two other lieutenants of Saddam Hussein were convicted in June of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In September the Iraqi High Tribunal upheld his death sentence in a majority decision, as well as those of former Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein Rasheed Mohammed, former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces. Under Iraqi law, a deadline to execute Majeed passed last week, but the government delayed the execution because of the Ramadan holiday.