§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on(a) the claim by UK armed forces to have killed the Iraqi known as Chemical Ali in Basra during the conflict earlier this year and (b) the recent claim by the US Administration to have captured Chemical Ali. [136708]
§ Mr. IngramAli Hassan al-Majeed—"Chemical Ali"—is in US custody.
On 6 April there were indications that Ali Hassan al-Majeed had been in a building in Basra when it was destroyed by coalition aircraft. We said at the time that we believed that a body found was that of Ali Hassan al-Majeed but that we could not be certain until scientific tests had been performed to positively identify it. The tests subsequently proved that the body was not, in fact, his.