The rope will be kept at the monument in the village of Halabja commemorating the estimated 5,000 people who were killed, most of whom were women and children, in what is now thought to have been the worst gas attack ever carried out against civilians.

It was used in the January 2010 hanging of Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali", who was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity after being found guilty of ordering the attack.

Majid's execution was celebrated in Halabja, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the dominant political bloc in Sulaimaniyah province where Halabja is located, said in a statement on Friday that ultimately unsuccessful efforts were made for Majid to be executed in the town.

"Gifting the rope will make the victims' families happy and comforted," said Alaa Talabani, an Iraqi Kurdish lawmaker.

With the Iran-Iraq war coming to a close in 1988, Kurdish peshmerga rebels seized control of Halabja, near the Iranian border, in the Kurdish mountains.

In response, the Iraqi army shelled the village, forcing out the militia. For five hours on the morning of March 16, Iraqi fighter planes released a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX.

Many village residents are still dealing with the after-effects of the brutal campaign.

strs-psr/dv