Kurds across the globe are marking the 25th anniversary of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's deadly chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja. The attack killed about 5,000 Iraqi Kurds and injured about 10,000 others.
The White House issued a statement Saturday honoring the families of those who died in the "horrific massacre" and pledging to ensure that perpetrators of such crimes are held accountable.
Iraqi government helicopters and warplanes dropped mustard gas and nerve agents on Halabja on March 16, 1988. It was one of the most infamous massacres of Saddam Hussein's "Anfal" campaign against the predominantly Kurdish population of northern Iraq.
In 2011, Iraq's parliament voted to recognize the deadly chemical attack on Halabja as a "genocide."
The post-Saddam Iraqi government executed Saddam's cousin Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali," in January 2010 for his role in the poison gas attack and other crimes against humanity.