Iraq Executes 'Chemical Ali,' Saddam Hussein's Cousin, As Bombings Rock Baghdad

Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Saddam Hussein's cousin who became known as "Chemical Ali" after he gassed 5,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988, was executed Monday, CNN reports. He was hanged after being convicted in four separate trials for 13 counts of killings and genocide.

Al-Majeed was held by the United States from the day of his capture in 2003 until 24 hours before he was to be executed, when he was turned over to Iraqi officials. The execution had been postponed for political reasons, and it is unclear what change led it to be suddenly carried out.

In addition to the Kurdish genocide, Al-Majeed was sentenced to death separately for his role in putting down a Shiite uprising against Hussein in 1991, and for his part in putting down a Baghdad revolt in 1999.

Shortly after the execution, three car bombings rocked Baghdad, killing 36 and injuring another 71, Al Jazeera reports. The attacks all occured at major hotels in the capital and happened within 10 minutes of one another. Iraqi officials declined to speculate on a possible correlation between the bombings and the execution.