Kurds Mark 20th Anniversary of Deadly Gas Attack
When the bombs struck, many residents, believing they were conventional explosives, ran to their basements, but could not escape the gas. Survivors later said that some victims died immediately, while others, gasping for breath and vomiting, took longer.
For several years after the attacks, Halabja, a village of unpaved streets and old stone buildings, was abandoned. Survivors suffered health problems that included sterility, breathing problems and children born with deformities.
