The 36th session of the Anfal trial resumed on Tuesday after the execution of Saddam Hussein's two aides.

Prosecutors said that up to 180,000 Kurds were allegedly killed, many of them by poison gas and mass killings, during the Anfal genocide.

Chief prosecution Munqith al-Faroon presented voice tapes of the main suspect Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali", who spoke on behalf of a number of defendants attempting to give details about difficulties facing them regarding their testimonies and meeting with their defense attorneys.

One of the voice tapes recorded al-Majid cursing past Kurdish leader and the current Iraqi President Jalal Al-Talabani. The prosecution accuses the main suspect of personally being responsible of the Anfal genocide.

Last session, chief judge Muhammad al-Ureiby called on the prosecution to provide testimonies of three criminal investigation experts from the Ministry of Interior to test documents from the past.

Saddam was sentenced to death on Nov. 5 on crimes against humanity for killing of 148 people in Dujail village following a failed assassination attempt on him in 1982.

The Iraqi government also hanged two of Saddam's henchmen in an attempt to close the chapter of Saddam Hussein.

But the executions have angered Sunni Muslims after it was revealed the despot's half brother was decapitated on the gallows.

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2007)