Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/7/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / ALI (S)

NUMBER=2-301858

BYLINE=LARRY JAMES

DATELINE=AS SALIYAH, QATAR

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Reports from southern Iraq say the body of a senior Iraqi commander has been found in the Basra. Larry James has the latest in this report from Central Command headquarters in As Saliyah, Qatar.

TEXT: Reports from journalists traveling with British troops in Basra have led officials here to believe that General Ali Hassan Al Majid, the man known as Chemical Ali, is dead.

Group Commander Al Lockwood is the spokesman for the British military. He says further details will be necessary to confirm the reports but he says the initial reports suggest an air strike on the general's house may have resulted in his death.

/// LOCKWOOD ACT ///

I have it on some fairly reliable information that they think that his body has been pulled from the rubble of the building that was bombed.

/// END ACT ///

If confirmed, the death would be, what officials here are calling, a major blow to Saddam Hussein's government.

British forces are continuing operations in Basra and are still encountering pockets of resistance. (Signed)

NEB/LDJ/KL