Chemical Ali hanged; blasts rock Baghdad

Saddam Hussein's notorious henchman 'Chemical Ali' was executed yesterday, an Iraqi government spokesman said.

The sentence was carried out around a week after he received a fourth death sentence. "The condemned Ali Hassan Al Majid has been executed by hanging until death today," said spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh in a statement.

Meanwhile, three large car bombs rocked well-known Baghdad hotels, killing at least 36 people and ending a one-and-a-half month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March polls.

Police said at least 71 people were wounded in the separate suicide car bombings, which went off within minutes of one another. Some of the casualties were police. Health Ministry data showed a lower figure.

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