(Times - UK) Robin Pagnamenta - On March 16, 1988, during the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein's forces bombed the Kurds in Halabja with mustard and nerve gas, killing about 5,000 civilians. Thousands more have died since from injuries or related cancers and birth defects. Some Halabja residents wore protective masks on that day, but because there were two types of gas, they were of limited use: mustard gas suffocates victims by eating away at the lungs and eyes; nerve gas can kill after being absorbed by the skin.
2002-10-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive