THE drug-related killings in Dublin have been described as a clinical gangland murder.

An Iraqi appeals court today upheld death sentences imposed against “Chemical Ali” al-Majid and two other Saddam Hussein lieutenants convicted of crimes against humanity for their roles a massacre of Kurds, a judge said.

Two former Saddam Hussein aides were ejected from a Baghdad courtroom for unruly behaviour today on the second day of a trial over the brutal crushing of a 1991 rebellion in Iraq by Shiite Muslims.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin, known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 others went on trial today on charges of crimes against humanity related to the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.

Iraq’s prime minister called a crisis conference in a bid to reach open a dialogue tomorrow among Iraq’s divided factions, to shore up his shaky government and unstick the stalled political process.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 other defendants will face charges over the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War next week when Iraq’s third trial against former regime officials gets under way.

A court in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein heard harrowing accounts today that the former Iraqi leader’s forces beheaded a mentally-ill Kurdish man and pushed three other Kurds out of a helicopter in mid-air during a crackdown 20 years ago.

A DEFIANT Saddam Hussein shouted at prosecutors and refused to enter a plea yesterday at the opening of his second trial, in which he faces charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against the Kurds nearly two decades ago.

An Iraqi tribunal is incapable of fairly and effectively trying Saddam Hussein and six others on genocide charges for their role in the killing of an estimated 100,000 Kurds in the 1980s, a major human rights group said today.

Saddam Hussein’s notorious cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali,” was one of eight former regime officials to be shown today on a tape released by the Iraqi Special tribunal.

Recent information links one of Saddam Hussein’s most notorious former generals to the massacres of Shiites in southern Iraq, a human rights group said today.

INSURGENTS attacked a car carrying at least three Westerners in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, killing them and their Iraqi driver and cutting off the head of one of the victims, local witnesses said.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein met a defence lawyer for the first time since his capture a year ago, days before several of his top aides are due to appear in court for war crimes hearings.

Saddam Hussein should be bailed in Europe while he awaits trial, his lawyer said today.

The 12 former Iraqi regime figures due in court in Baghdad to hear charges against them are:

Iraq’s new authorities took legal control of Saddam Hussein and 11 others in Baghdad today, setting the stage for a court appearance to face war crimes charges on his 24 years in power.

Police in Britain said today they regretted the negative impact on the Kurdish community of identifying that some of the terror suspects arrested last month were Iraqi Kurds.

US officials now say they are not so sure that a coalition air strike killed “Chemical Ali”, one of Iraq’s most notorious officials.

THE US military has issued a most-wanted list of 55 former leaders in Saddam Hussein’s regime to be pursued, captured or killed.

British military divers were today searching a flooded underground bunker found in a complex they believe was “Chemical Ali’s” intelligence headquarters for evidence of chemical weapons.

British troops who believe they have found “Chemical Ali’s” intelligence headquarters today began testing the buildings for traces of chemical weapons.

SPORADIC fighting continued in Basra yesterday as British troops sought to control Iraq’s second city.

US tanks stormed through the heart of Baghdad today, seizing key buildings at the heart of Saddam’s regime and sending all Iraqis the message “We own Baghdad”.

Coalition aircraft today struck the home of an Iraqi general known as ”Chemical Ali” for ordering a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds in 1988.