UN weapons inspectors visit presidential site in Iraq

Teams from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today conducted an unannounced joint inspection of one of the eight Presidential sites in Iraq.

The probe at the Sijood site, located on the west bank of the Tigris River in Baghdad, was the first inspection of a presidential site since the return of the inspectors to Iraq, according to a UN spokesman.

The inspection team was able to enter the site within a few minutes. Although the site was frozen during the inspection in order to avoid any exit, senior Iraqi officials were allowed to enter.

When the inspection was finished, the freeze was lifted. Access to the entire site was provided without difficulty, and the planned inspection activity was completed, the spokesman reported.