Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein who was also known as Chemical Ali, has been executed, according to an Iraqi government spokesman.

Al-Majid had received four death sentences leading up to Monday's hanging for crimes against humanity.Ali Hassan al-Majid,  known as Chemical Ali, was executed Monday for crimes against humanity.Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali, was executed Monday for crimes against humanity. (APTN/Asssociated Press)

Earlier this month, he was convicted for his involvement in the 1988 poison gas attack on the northern Kurdish town of Halabja in which over 5,000 children, women and men died.

Saddam, who was executed in 2006, had appointed Al-Majid as governor of Northern Iraq and put him in charge of the deadly attack.

Al-Majid was also convicted of killing tens of thousands of Kurds in a crackdown in the late 1980s, and for the killings of Shia Muslims in 1991 and 1999.

With files from The Associated Press