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Iraq: UN weapons inspectors probe sites related to germ warfare and nuclear arms

Iraq: UN weapons inspectors probe sites related to germ warfare and nuclear arms

On their second day of substantive work in Iraq, United Nations weapons inspectors today probed a site which Baghdad had previously admitted was used for the production of biological weapons starting in 1990.

On their second day of substantive work in Iraq, United Nations weapons inspectors today probed a site which Baghdad had previously admitted was used for the production of biological weapons starting in 1990.

Fourteen experts from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) visited the Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Plant, where equipment declared to have been in Baghdad's germ warfare programme was destroyed under the UN's supervision in 1996.

According to a UN spokesman “significant dual use production equipment remains” at the site, which is located in Al Dawrah, some 15 kilometres south of Baghdad. The team completed its planned tasks, taking a number of samples.

“During the inspection, the team learned that some equipment had been transferred to another facility,” spokesman Hiro Ueki told reporters in Baghdad. “This was immediately followed by activities at a small veterinary medicine facility about 20 kilometres north of Baghdad.”

Meanwhile, a nine-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today inspected two sites that had been known for their dual-use capabilities as of 1998. The sites were located at Dhu Al Fiqar and Nassr Company in the Taji area, north of Baghdad.

Both teams “had no difficulty gaining immediate access to the sites as well as any locations within the sites,” Mr. Ueki said.