Kurds recall Saddam’s chemical massacre at Halabja in 1988

SIRENS sounded and in otherwise silent streetsyesterday as Iraqi Kurds marked the 15th anniversary of a chemical attack by Saddam Hussein’s forces on the town of Halabja that killed 5,000 people in a single day.

US President George W Bush, whose forces are poised to attack Iraq, drew attention to the atrocity in his summit address last night, but survivors say his words came 15 years too late.

"If America is using this attack on Halabja as a justification for war, then they should have attacked Saddam in 1988, not now," said Rubar Mohammad, 32, whosuspects that her husband is buried in one of Halabja's mass graves.