A cousin of Saddam's who, like the Iraqi leader, hailed from the northern city of Tikrit, Majid was considered the president's right-hand man whose services were regularly called upon to break the back of any uprising against his regime.

When it became clear the United States would launch a war to topple Saddam, Majid was appointed governor of southern Iraq to organize the defense of the region -- and to ensure that the mass uprising urged by the coalition did not materialize.

US Central Command said Majid's Basra villa was hit in an air strike Saturday. British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Monday there were "strong indications" that Majid was killed, although there was no confirmation.

Chemical Ali had been called to the south before, in March 1991, to play a key role in suppressing a Shiite Muslim uprising that erupted after then US president George Bush exhorted Iraqis to rid themselves of Saddam in the wake of the first Gulf war.

After the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Majid was named governor of the occupied emirate, which the regime considered the 19th province of Iraq. He quickly wiped out pockets of resistance, and after the Gulf war resumed his normal job as Iraq's minister for local affairs.

But Majid won his notoriety in the north of Iraq. In March 1987, the ruling Baath party put him in charge of state agencies in the Kurdish area, including the police, army and militia.

As the eight-year war with Iran drew to a close, Iraq became enraged that fighters from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan with backing from Tehran had taken over the agricultural town of Halabja, just 11 kilometers (seven miles) from the border.

The Iraqi army started by bombing the area with artillery and fighter planes. Kurdish guerrillas retreated to the surrounding hills, leaving behind women and children.

In the afternoon of March 16, Iraqi jets swooped over Halabja and for five hours sprayed the city with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX.

Dozens of Kurds lay lifeless in front of their homes many with blood pouring out of their noses as they tried in vain to flee the attacks.

It is believed to have been the biggest gas attack carried out against civilians. An estimated 5,000 people were killed, 75 percent of them women and children.

People in the area of the village continue to die of cancer and suffer from asthma, sterility and miscarriages, according to Kurdish doctors.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a report earlier this year, called for the arrest and prosecution of Majid, saying he was responsible for the deaths or "disappearances" of around 100,000 non-combatant Kurds when he put down their revolt.

"Majid is Saddam Hussein's hatchet man. He has been involved in some of Iraq's worst crimes -- including genocide and crimes against humanity," said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch's executive director.

"Bringing him to justice is an essential priority."

But before the current conflict, Chemical Ali had been increasing his public profile. In January he made his first trip abroad since 1988, visiting Syria and Lebanon to present Iraq's point of view as war clouds loomed.

SPACE.WIRE