The genocide trial of six of former Iraqi officials resumed on Thursday in Baghdad while court continued hearing evidences against them.

The court started the 35th session with hearing videotapes and other evidences about the role of Saddam's aides in the "Operation Anfal" which prosecutors said that up to 180,000 Kurds were allegedly killed, many of them by poison gas and mass killings.

At the end of the session, chief judge Muhammad al-Ureiby the court will summon three experts from the Iraqi Interior Ministry to verify the signatures of the defendants who claimed they were forged. Urieby then ordered the court be adjourned until Jan. 23.

On Monday, Urieby said that his court dropped all legal procedures against the defendant Saddam Hussein.

"According to a letter received from Iraqi High Tribunal on Jan. 7 concerning the execution of defendant Saddam Hussein, the court decided to stop legal procedures against him," Urieby said.

The remaining important codefendant on Anfal trial is Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali" who is the cousin of Saddam Hussein and former defense minister.

The other five codefendants are also facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

If convicted, the remaining six defendants could face the death penalty.

Saddam Hussein was hanged on Dec. 30 after found guilty on a previous case of Dujail town, in which 148 Shiites were executed in the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt against Saddam in the town, some 60 km north of Baghdad.

Two more of Saddam's aides are waiting for their death penalty in the case of Dujail, they were Saddam's half brother Barzan al- Tikriti and Iraq's former chief judge Awad Ahmed al-Bandar.

Source: Xinhua