Iraqis mark Halabja chemical gas attack

People in northern Iraq have marked the 25th anniversary of the chemical weapons attack on Halabja town by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Thousands of Iraqi Kurds joined the memorial ceremony for the victims of the deadly chemical gas attack on Saturday.

Some 5,000 people, mostly women and children, were killed after Iraqi jets dropped poison gas on the town, which is located near Iraq’s border with Iran.

Another 7,000 were injured, crippled, or suffered long-term health problems in the Halabja poison gas attack.

Mourners held pictures of their dead relatives and observed a minute of silence at 11:35 a.m., the time Iraqi forces launched the attack in 1988.

Twenty-five years later, public surveys have found dissatisfaction with efforts to reconstruct Halabja and pay compensation to survivors.

The figure showed that 60 percent of people believed Kurdistan’s government has kept very few of its promises on Halabja.

The regional government unveiled revival projects for Halabja this month, totaling over USD 150 million.