-- Iraq Says Warheads Not Linked to Banned Arms --
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq on Thursday dismissed a U.N.
report of the discovery of empty warheads designed to carry
chemical agents as a storm in a teacup over arms that had long
expired.
"These are 122mm rockets with an empty warhead. There are
no chemical or biological agents or weapons of mass destruction
or linked to weapons of mass destruction," said the head of the
Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate, General Hussam Mohammad
Amin.
"These rockets are expired...they were in closed wooden
boxes...that we had forgotten about," he told a news
conference.
He challenged U.N. inspectors to disprove his claim and
described the issue as a "storm in a teacup." A U.N.,
spokesman said in Baghdad that weapons inspectors had found had
empty warheads designed to carry chemical warfare agents.
The United States, which is massing forces in the Gulf, has
made it clear it is ready to invade if the inspectors find Iraq
has lied in assuring the United Nations that it no longer
possesses chemical, biological or nuclear arms.
U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki did not expand on the significance
of the find during an inspection of the Ukhaider Ammunition
Storage Area, which lies 75 miles south of Baghdad.
"During the course of their inspection, the team discovered
11 empty 122mm chemical warheads and one warhead that requires
further evaluation," he said in a statement. The team used
portable X-ray equipment to conduct preliminary analysis of one
of the warheads and collected samples for chemical testing.
Rockets of 122mm caliber are normally fired from multi-barreled
rocket launchers, or singly. They are generally regarded as
tactical battlefield weapons.
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16-Jan-2003 19:37:00 GMT
Source RTRS - Reuters News |
