Over 340 tons of high explosives missing from Iraq, UN nuclear watchdog says

More than 340 tons of high explosives that had been subject to United Nations monitoring were stolen or looted from a government facility in Iraq, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported today.

In a letter to the Security Council, IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei says the Iraqi authorities informed the Agency on 10 October of the explosives lost last year "throughout the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security."

After confirming the Iraqi communication, the IAEA then notified the United States-led multinational force (MNF) - which has responsibility for security in Iraq - about the matter five days later on 15 October.

The missing explosives include 195 metric tons of HMX that had been under IAEA seal, as well as141 tons of RDX and almost six tons of PETN, both subject to regular monitoring of stock levels, Mr. ElBaradei says.

The IAEA last verified the presence of those stockpiles in January 2003.