An Iraqi prosecutor says Saddam Hussein's cousin and four other former officials in the ousted regime deserve the death penalty for mass killings of Kurds.

Ali Hassan Al-Majid speak during trial (Jan 2007 file photo)

The prosecutor sought the death penalty Monday at the trial in Baghdad against Ali Hassan al-Majid and the other four officials. Al-Majid is known as "Chemical Ali" for allegedly ordering poison gas attacks against the Kurds.

The prosecutor asked that a sixth defendant, former governor of Mosul Taher al-Ani, be released for lack of evidence.

The former officials are on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the so-called Anfal campaign in the 1980s, in which 180,000 Iraqi Kurds died.

The defendants claim the campaign was against legitimate military targets - Kurdish guerrillas who had sided with Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.