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Kurds brace for gas attacks

Authorities in northern Iraq’s Kurdish-run enclave say they’re certain Saddam Hussein will target them with chemical weapons if the United States attacks Iraq. But they are delaying a public education campaign because they are afraid it will create panic. The Iraqi dictator is believed to have used chemical agents against the Kurds at least 11 times during the late 1980s as he sought to put down a rebellion by guerrillas fighting for a separate state. In the most notorious attack, Iraqi aircraft pounded this town with conventional bombs, then unleashed VX nerve gas and mustard gas on its 45,000 residents. Today, statues and museum exhibits throughout the Switzerland-size Kurdish region, known as Kurdistan, honor the 6,800 people killed in the 1988 incident. The March 16 anniversary date, a holiday here, is known as Martyrs Day. Full Story